CABINET OFFICE

Crown Copyright

David Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the role of the Advisory Panel on Crown Copyright.

Douglas Alexander: As I announced on 14 April to the House through a written ministerial statement the role of the Advisory Panel on Crown Copyright is:
	To advise Ministers on how to create opportunities in the information industry for greater reuse of Government information;
	To advise Her Majesty's Stationery Office about changes in the information industry, so that the licensing of Crown copyright information is aligned with emerging developments; and
	To advise on the impact of complaints under the Information Fair Trader Scheme.
	I look forward to meeting its Chairman, Professor Richard Susskind, shortly.

Public Appointments

Iain Luke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress is being made to increase the number of members of ethnic minorities who take up public appointments.

Douglas Alexander: Good progress is being made. "Public Bodies 2002" published on 31 January 2003, showed that members of ethnic minorities held 6.2 per cent. of public appointments, up from 4.8 per cent. in the previous year.

Government Services (Disabled People)

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps have been taken towards making Government services accessible to the disabled.

Douglas Alexander: 2003 is the European Year for Disabled People and the Government are committed to ensuring the delivery of accessible electronic information and electronic services to disabled users.
	The Government first issued "Guidelines for UK government websites", requiring all new or re-designed web-based services to be made accessible to the disabled, in December 1999. It is now a condition of registering a .gov.uk domain name that websites comply with these guidelines.

TRANSPORT

Rail Freight

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase the volume of freight carried on the rail network, with particular reference to changes in funding arrangements.

Alistair Darling: The Strategic Rail Authority published its "Freight Progress Report" on 8 May. A copy is in the Library.
	£54 million of Freight Facilities Grants have been awarded by the Strategic Rail Authority, matched by £31 million of private sector investment, which together keep over 4 million lorry journeys off the roads.
	The Strategic Rail Authority plans to reopen the Freight Facility and Track Access Grant schemes in the autumn for spend from April 2004, subject to available funding.

A556

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what improvements he plans to make to the A556 link between the M6 and the M56.

John Spellar: In his announcement on 1 April 2003, the Secretary of State for Transport was not convinced that the proposal for a new motorway in open countryside between M6 Junction 19 and M56 was acceptable. Instead, he has asked the Highways Agency to work with local stakeholders to identify smaller-scale measures to address congestion and safety on the A556. Consultation will take place this summer, with the full involvement of local stakeholders. The Highways Agency has a scheme at Bucklow Hill, which is expected to start in the next 12 months.

Village Bypasses

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the provision of village bypasses.

David Jamieson: Proposals for village bypasses are appraised against the Government's objectives for the environment, safety, economy, integration and accessibility, and decisions on particular bypasses are made on a case-by-case basis.

Rail Services (Gloucestershire)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on rail services to and from Gloucestershire.

David Jamieson: In order to improve reliability and performance on the Virgin Crosscountry network, the Strategic Rail Authority has decided that most Virgin Crosscountry trains should no longer serve Gloucester station from the beginning of the summer 2003 timetable on 18 May. Instead, new services operated by Central trains and Wessex trains will provide a more reliable service to a range of destinations including Cardiff, Cheltenham, Worcester and Birmingham, from where onward connections can be made.

Detrunking (Lancashire)

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the detrunking of roads in Lancashire.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency is planning to detrunk the A59, A565, A65, A646 and A679 in Lancashire on 1 July. They are working with the local highway authority and any objectors to resolve any outstanding issues.

Ticketing

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to facilitate joint ticketing between public transport companies.

John Spellar: Operators may agree ticketing schemes falling within the block exemption from the Competition Act 1998. Local authorities have statutory powers to make ticketing schemes for buses, with or without tram or rail connections.
	My Department has encouraged the Journey Solutions organisation to deliver a simple add-on bus option to rail tickets called PlusBus.

Gourock Station

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority regarding the actions of Network Rail in relation to the redevelopment of Gourock station.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has recently spoken to the Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority, met representatives from both Network Rail and Inverclyde council, and has written to the Chairman of Network Rail about the company's participation in the Gourock Interchange Project.

Totnes Castle

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Network Rail about the proposed construction of a telecommunications mast in front of Totnes Castle.

David Jamieson: None. I am advised that Network Rail has an on-going dialogue with South Hams local district council regarding the location of the GSM-R mast in Totnes.

Airports (Transport Links)

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to improve public ground transport links to airports.

David Jamieson: We have looked closely at possible improvements to public transport links, as part of our studies of airports and air services across the UK, on which we are presently consulting. We will set out our conclusions in the air transport White Paper. Airports are also working with the relevant parties to improve public transport links, in accordance with the policies set out in the 1998 "New Deal for Transport" White Paper.

Alconbury Airfield

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for a further public display of proposals for the construction of an airfield at Alconbury, held at a venue close to the airport site.

David Jamieson: There are no plans for further public exhibitions on the options presented in "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East" (second edition).
	Public exhibitions providing information about the published consultation options were held last year, This included an exhibition on 3 October at the Huntingdon Marriott Hotel concerning the option for the small-scale airport development at Alconbury airfield.
	On 27 February 2003 the Government published a revised South East consultation document, including runway options for Gatwick airport, A public exhibition about these new options was held recently with a further day planned for later this month,

Cycling

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to (a) develop and (b) promote cycling as an element of multi-modal transport planning (i) in England, (ii) regionally and (iii) in Teesside.

David Jamieson: Our National Cycling Strategy (NCS) aims to quadruple the number of journeys made by bike (based on 1996 figures) by 2012. We have established the NCS Board for England to take this forward. The Board combines expertise on transport engineering, marketing, local government and research. It has established a team of regional champions—the English Regions Cycling Development Team—to work with local authorities to promote and monitor cycling and deliver an improvement in conditions for cyclists.
	At local level, provision and improvement of facilities for cyclists are largely funded through Local Transport Plan funds, All authorities have developed a local cycling strategy as part of these plans. This must identify gaps in the local infrastructure and potential improvements to the cycling network. In the 2003–04, Tees Valley authorities plan to spend over £1 million on cycling schemes.

Entertainment Costs

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he has entertained Labour hon. Members at public expense in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

David Jamieson: None.

Information Technology

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's (a) total managed expenditure, (b) total spending on Information Technology and (c) spending on Information Technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure was in each financial year since 1997–98.

David Jamieson: The contribution by the Department for Transport to Total Managed Expenditure can be measured by the total of spending under resource and capital budgets, less non-cash items in Annually Managed Expenditure, Data for 1998–99 to 2001–02 were published in the 2002 Departmental Report (Cm 5405), New estimates will be published in the same table in the 2003 Departmental Report, in May 2003.
	Estimates of spending on Information Technology (IT) are not held centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Rail Accidents

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have occurred on the Stratford to Birmingham railway line between Earlswood and Tyseley since 1980.

David Jamieson: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advise that, since their records began in December 1990, there have been a total of 108 incidents on the railway (including stations) between Earlswood and Tyseley that are reportable to the HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1995. The incidents recorded range from slip and trip injuries to employees to more serious route crime incidents such as missile strikes to train cabs .

Rail Accidents

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents on the Stratford to Birmingham railway line between Earlswood and Tyseley since 1980 were caused by leaves on the line.

David Jamieson: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advise that, since their records began in December 1990, there have been no accidents caused by 'leaves on the line' incidents reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. However, there were two incidents on 24 August 1996 and 3 January 1998 where trains have struck trees that have fallen on to the line near Earlswood station,

Railway Complaints

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints were received from members of the public regarding each rail operating company in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: Data on the number of complaints received by each train operator is published in the Strategic Rail Authority's On Track publication, copies of which are placed in the Library of the House. The information first appeared in the issue published on 29 June 2001 which provided data back to 1999–2000.

Rosyth

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 19 March, Official Report, column 759W, on Rosyth, what estimate he has made of the likely change in long distance lorry movements through Tyneside which will result from the new RO-RO facilities at Rosyth.

David Jamieson: My Department's grant award to Forth Ports Pic, Rosyth was predicated on the substantial environmental benefits which will arise through the savings of over 400,000 long distance lorry journeys between Scotland and the ports of Dover, Hull and Teesport over the next 10 years, No specific estimate was made of the number of lorries that would pass through the Port of Tyne,
	Of the 400,000 lorry journeys, 100,000 would have originated in Aberdeenshire, Angus, Fife, or Borders and thus passed through Tyneside on the way south.

Strategic Rail Authority

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has set the chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority a target for response times to letters from (a) hon. Members and (b) the general public; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State has not set such targets for the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). However, the SRA aims to answer all correspondence from hon. Members within 15 working days of receipt, and to answer correspondence from members of the public within 20 days of receipt.

Toll Roads

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of toll roads on poorer communities and social exclusion; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The M6 Toll is the only planned toll road. Midland Expressway Ltd. (MEC) was given a concession for the road in 1992. No assessment was carried out of the impact on poorer communities and social exclusion of tolls being levied on this road, as there is a free alternative to this road.

Traffic Calming

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent changes he has made to regulations affecting the height of road humps and other traffic calming measures; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The most recent regulations containing details on road humps and other traffic calming measures are "The Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999" and "The Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations 1999". Copies of these regulations are available from The Stationery Office. We have no current plans to alter these regulations.

PRIME MINISTER

Chagos Islands

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Prime Minister what reply he has sent to the petitioners from the Chagos Islands who delivered a petition to 10 Downing street on Friday 2 May; and if he will publish his reply.

Tony Blair: I have asked my right hon. Friend, the Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs the hon. Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. O'Brien) to reply on my behalf.

Civil Servants

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister what guidance is given to civil servants in his office on the sharing of opinions with politicians not in the Government formed in the course of their professional activities about hon. Members.

Tony Blair: Contacts between civil servants and politicians not in the Government are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code, the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers and the Directory of Civil Service Guidance.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister whether British interrogators have obtained independent access to captured senior officials of the Saddam Hussein regime in the search for weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Blair: UK and US personnel are conducting a co-ordinated series of interviews with senior officials of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Ministers' Partners (Government Employment)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister, how many (a) husbands, (b) wives and (c) partners of Government Ministers are in paid Government employment as (i) civil servants and (ii) advisers; and if he will list them.

Tony Blair: All appointments are made, as appropriate, in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code, the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers and the Code of Practice on Public Appointments. Detailed information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Prime Minister how many meetings he has had with representatives of the Irish Republic's Government about the situation in Northern Ireland this year.

Tony Blair: This year I have met the Taoiseach on the following occasions:
	
		
			 Date Location 
		
		
			 23 January No. 10 
			 12 February Hillsborough 
			 27 February No. 10 
			 3–4 March Hillsborough 
			 8 April Hillsborough 
			 10 April No. 10 
			 16 April EU Council, Brussels 
			 6 May Dublin

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal By-products

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the impact of the Animal By-Products Regulation on (a) small abattoirs and slaughterhouses and (b) planning applications for small and medium-sized abattoirs and slaughterhouses since October 2002.

Elliot Morley: A partial Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Animal By-Products Regulation is in the Library of the House, as part of the consultation on the enforcing regulations dated 27 January 2003. The Department has issued guidance to abattoirs, suggesting simple, low-cost ways of complying with the new requirements for disposal of blood. Planning applications may not be required in all cases. We have no information on the impact that the Regulation has had on the number of planning applications from small and medium sized abattoirs since October 2002.

Animal By-products

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the provisions relating to the separation of buildings in the Animal By-Products Regulation in relation to small abattoirs and slaughterhouses.

Elliot Morley: The UK has secured a modification to Annex V of the Regulation to allow fat-rendering plants to be linked to abattoirs, providing they are operated separately and only process animal by-products originating on the premises.

Animal By-products

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations will be in force regarding the burial of horses on racecourses and studs following the introduction of the EU Animal By-products Regulation; and what information has been given to horse owners and trainers.

Elliot Morley: New EU legislation, the Animal By-Products Regulation, applied in Member States from 1 May. Amongst other things the Regulation banned the routine on-farm burial and open burning of animal carcases.
	Horses from racecourses and stud farms will have to be disposed of in accordance with the Regulation. Burial or open burning is not permitted. Currently the permitted disposal routes for fallen stock include rendering, incineration, or sending the carcases to approved knackers yards, hunt kennels or maggot farms.
	No specific advice has been provided to horse owners and trainers, but information on the disposal of animal carcases is available on the Defra website, at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bv-prods/default.htm., and from local Defra Animal Health Offices.

Catering Policy

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to encourage catering sections of each Department to source and serve food which is (a) produced in Britain, (b) organic and (c) Fair Trade.

Elliot Morley: Defra has published guidance for public sector bodies that covers issues such as removing obstacles to tendering by local and UK producers and the purchase of organic and fair trade produce. It can be seen on our web site at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/index.htm. We are also taking a number of other steps to integrate sustainable development into the public procurement of food and catering services. These include seminars to raise awareness, bilateral meeting at Ministerial and senior management level (including with representatives of local government) and the production of case studies. The guidance takes account of the Government's policy of achieving value for money and its commitment under the EC rules to ensure that public procurement is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory.

Conservation Areas

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects (a) Wedholme Flow, (b) Bolton Fell Moss and (c) Solway Moss to be designated as special areas of conservation in accordance with the recommendations of English Nature.

Elliot Morley: Following English Nature's recommendations in June 2002, issues concerning boundary alignment and compensation payments have arisen. English Nature is working with stakeholders to resolve these questions. Until these matters have been resolved it is not possible to say when the sites will be designated as Special Areas of Conservation.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the new rights of access under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to commence in the upper north west region.

Alun Michael: I announced in November last year that the new right for the public to walk on mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land will be rolled out on a region by region basis. This will give walkers the right to walk in open countryside and on registered common land as early as possible, rather than having to wait for the mapping process to be completed for the whole country. I intend to open the upper and lower north west regions in the autumn of 2004.
	This is a demanding timetable as we will need to have in place not only the conclusive maps for those regions but also all necessary restrictions and exclusions. Guidance and codes of practice will also need to be available to walkers and landowners. These mechanisms are necessary under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (The CROW Act) and it is important for them to be in force in each region before access land is made available to the public so that the interests of both land managers and walkers are safeguarded. We expect to meet the target of having all access land open by the end of 2005.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 16 January, Official Report, column 735W, if she will set out the timetable for the implementation of regulations under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Alun Michael: The table below records the progress we have already made towards bringing regulations into force and our timetable for completing the process. As I explained in my answer of 16 January, the precise timing may vary but we are firmly committed to ensuring the necessary regulations are made to allow the new right of public access under the Act to be rolled out as planned.
	
		
			 Regulation Section Consultation commenced (not later than) Date regulations in force (not later than) 
		
		
			 Regulations regarding mapping of access land and consultation on draft maps Section 11 March 2001[ended June 2001] 1 November 2001 
			 Regulations regarding issue of provisional maps, appeals, and issue of conclusive maps Section 11 November 2001[ended 8 Feb 2002] 29 July 2002 
			 Regulations regarding the establishment of LAFs and the appointment of members Section 94 (Part V) July 2001[ended October 2001] 7 August 2002 
			 Regulations on correcting minor errors and omissions in provisional and conclusive maps Section 11(2)(1) October 2002[ended 7 November 2002] June 2003 
			 Regulations regarding dedication of land for access Section 16 January 2002[ended 15 April 2002] June 2003 
			 Regulations relating to exclusion or restriction of access under Chapter II, including appeals (but not emergencies) Section 32 December 2001[ended 22 March 2002] June 2003 
			 Regulations on removal or relaxation of restrictions on access land and to exclude access in emergencies (including appeals) Paragraph 7, Schedule 2;Section 31 June 2003 December 2003 
			 Regulations on appeals relating to notices Section 38 June 2003 December 2003 
			 Regulations on references to public places in existing enactments Section 42 June 2003 December 2003 
			 Regulations regarding review of conclusive maps Section 11 February 2004 August 2004

EU Tobacco

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the recipients of exported EU tobacco by (a) country and (b) grade; what quantities are involved; what quantity of each grade is destroyed by the Communities; what the cost in 2003 is of (i) subsidy and (ii) destruction, broken down by grade; which countries are recipients of production subsidy; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Exports of tobacco in 2001, the latest full year available, were as shown in the table.
	There is no provision under the EU regime for tobacco to be destroyed.
	The cost of production subsidies in 2002 was 970 million euros (£610 million at 2002 exchange rates 1 ). The budget provision for 2003 is £956 million euros (£623 million 2 ).
	The countries in which tobacco subsidies are paid are Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
	This Government are opposed to the payment of production subsidies for tobacco and seeks their elimination as part of the continuing reform of the common agricultural policy.
	1 Based on the average for 2002: 0.628685 euro to the GB pound.
	2 Based on 2 January 2003 exchange rate of 0.652000 euro to the GB pound.
	
		EU exports to world of tobacco, 2001 (latest full year) -- Units=tons
		
			  Unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse—CN Code 2401 Tobacco, not stemmed/stripped—CN Code 240110 Tobacco, partly or wholly stemmed/stripped—CN Code 240120 Tobacco refuse—CN Code 240130  
		
		
			 World 388,238 124,219 78,674 56,577 
			 of which: 
			 France 21,694 2,050 1,510 15,778 
			 Netherlands 40,016 11,957 10,453 3,338 
			 Germany 41,557 7,666 10,909 5,311 
			 Italy 11,290 6,426 1,444 407 
			 United Kingdom 17,376 2,055 8,234 2,598 
			 Ireland 7,856 833 4,168 1,578 
			 Denmark 782 368 100 1 
			 Greece 9,876 1,446 607 1,706 
			 Portugal 2,958 403 658 599 
			 Spain 3,911 208 631 553 
			 Belgium 19,279 4,719 4,287 2,959 
			 Luxembourg 8,404 7,821 26 45 
			 Norway 957 152 100 253 
			 Sweden 252 181 14 0 
			 Finland 102 67 0 8 
			 Austria 7,084 1,132 3,603 1,237 
			 Switzerland 7,178 1,913 934 183 
			 Andorra 138 0 9 0 
			 Gibraltar 1 1 0 0 
			 Malta 2 0 0 2 
			 Turkey 4,266 14 744 904 
			 Latvia 1,329 180 159 329 
			 Lithuania 416 197 219 0 
			 Poland 5,113 1,840 816 187 
			 Czech Rep. 903 273 253 146 
			 Slovakia 664 162 106 182 
			 Hungary 2,556 667 1,392 83 
			 Romania 6,290 1,095 955 1,093 
			 Bulgaria 1,251 128 0 747 
			 Albania 121 121 0 0 
			 Ukraine 7,332 1,443 1,001 556 
			 Belarus 1,054 670 159 149 
			 Moldova 773 392 119 0 
			 Russia 36,630 13,923 6,485 6,589 
			 Georgia 339 185 79 0 
			 Armenia 227 187 0 0 
			 Azerbaijan 4,509 806 2,181 13 
			 Kasakhstan 1,149 68 170 300 
			 Uzbekistan 279 18 0 87 
			 Kyrghistan 132 0 0 131 
			 Slovenia 1,544 39 912 57 
			 Croatia 149 0 0 0 
			 Bosnia-Herz. 199 0 152 0 
			 Serb. Monten. 3,143 559 1,365 723 
			 For. JRep. Mac. 1,393 428 572 316 
			 Morocco 648 648 0 0 
			 Algeria 7,610 5,160 1 ,000 0 
			 Tunisia 4,924 2,501 20 239 
			 Libyan Arab Jamahir 363 0 213 0 
			 Egypt 17,918 10,050 1,107 335 
			 Mauritania 636 629 0 7 
			 Mali 38 38 0 0 
			 Burkina Faso 349 0 18 0 
			 Senegal 788 91 0 13 
			 Guinea 19 0 0 0 
			 Ivory Coast 3,617 51 37 118 
			 Ghana 21 0 21 0 
			 Gabon 20 20 0 0 
			 Rwanda 137 0 137 0 
			 Ethiopia 100 0 100 0 
			 Kenya 22 0 18 4 
			 Tanzania 13 0 13 0 
			 Madagascar 237 26 0 0 
			 Zimbabwe 17 16 1 0 
			 South Africa 1,322 74 1,047 3 
			 USA 20,775 10,788 2,184 2,926 
			 Canada 346 185 159 0 
			 Mexico 1,354 673 0 384 
			 Honduras 48 48 0 0 
			 Cuba 21 21 0 0 
			 Haiti 40 0 0 0 
			 Dominican R. 427 176 139 0 
			 Jamaica 79 0 0 0 
			 Trinidad, Tob. 492 157 0 0 
			 Colombia 2,129 95 40 356 
			 Venezuela 2,009 30 0 1,979 
			 Ecuador 15 15 0 0 
			 Brazil 951 868 0 83 
			 Chile 175 127 32 0 
			 Bolivia 30 0 0 0 
			 Paraguay 539 281 0 0 
			 Uruguay 3,495 3,413 0 0 
			 Argentina 361 342 0 0 
			 Cyprus 10 10 0 0 
			 Lebanon 455 0 257 0 
			 Iran 59 0 0 0 
			 Israel 978 374 300 0 
			 Jordan 147 147 0 0 
			 Saudi Arabia 30 8 22 0 
			 U. A. Emirates 25 0 0 25 
			 Pakistan 1 0 0 0 
			 India 71 49 18 4 
			 Bangladesh 842 352 370 120 
			 Sri Lanka 166 131 32 3 
			 Vietnam 149 1 6 0 
			 Cambodia 271 0 271 0 
			 Indonesia 3,911 3,412 494 3 
			 Malaysia 611 298 218 95 
			 Singapore 2,994 23 2,056 156 
			 Philippines 566 67 0 0 
			 North Korea 208 208 0 0 
			 South Korea 4,419 4,419 0 0 
			 Japan 7,877 4,081 2,296 35 
			 Taiwan 366 364 0 0 
			 Hong Kong 1,980 565 366 538 
			 Macao 16 16 0 0 
			 Australia 444 367 77 0 
			 New Zealand 10 10 0 0 
		
	
	Source:
	Comest, Eurostat—disk no. 12/2002. Extracted: 30 April 2003.

Fallen Stock

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to respond to proposals from farmers' representatives regarding the use of animal carcases in relation to carrion; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: A derogation to permit the feeding of fallen stock to necrophagous birds is available to Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and France as part of approved conservation measures for vultures. This derogation is not available in the UK.

Fallen Stock

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement about the use of fallen stock in upland and moorland areas being used as food for carrion.

Elliot Morley: A derogation to permit the feeding of fallen stock to necrophagous birds is available to Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and France as part of approved conservation measures for vultures. This derogation is not available in the UK.

Fallen Stock

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implementation of the EU fallen stock regulations in Buckinghamshire.

Elliot Morley: The EU animal by-products regulation which includes a ban on burial of fallen stock applies throughout the EU from 1 May 2003. Defra has sent a letter to all livestock farmers in England asking for expressions of interest in joining a national fallen stock collection and disposal scheme although it is not an essential requirement. We very much hope that farmers in Buckinghamshire will respond positively to this letter.

Fallen Stock

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the independent study into the environment and health implications of the foot and mouth disease burial site at Throckmorton to be published; and what arrangements will be made to ensure that elected representatives for the area receive a copy of the report at the time of its publication.

Elliot Morley: The report by consultants DNV has been published this morning and is available at the Defra website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/footandmouth/regions/wmidlands/wmidlands.htm. I have placed copies of the report in the Library. I understand that DNV has written to local elected representatives to inform them of the outcome.

Fishmeal

Mrs. Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what weight of wild fish is required to provide fishmeal for the production of one kilogram of farmed fish; and what assessment she has made of the long-term implications for wild fish stocks.

Elliot Morley: We do not hold information on the weight of wild fish used in fishmeal for feeding to farmed fish in the UK. The quantity involved will vary depending on the proportion of the fishmeal used in the different grades of dry fish feed produced for the species of farmed fish concerned and their stages of growth. However carnivorous aquaculture species are unlikely to consume more natural marine resources through feed than their wild counterparts would consume in the natural environment.
	The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) makes annual assessments of the main commercial fish stocks around Britain, including those used to produce fish meal such as sandeels, Norway pout and blue whiting, and provides advice on their management. The total abundance of sandeel or Norway pout in the North Sea varies considerably for natural reasons, but the ICES assessments show that they are currently stable. ICES does not consider that the sandeel and pout fisheries are affecting the availability of food for other wild fish at the stock level, but studies are in progress to investigate whether problems are likely to occur more locally. As regards blue whiting, ICES has stated that these stocks are outside safe biological limits and that catches should be limited to 600,000 tonnes in 2003. Although there is no internationally agreed Total Allowable Catch (TAC), the EU has set a TAC of 345,000 tonnes for Community waters in order to help manage the fishery.

Food and Drinks Industries

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what support her Department is giving to the British food and drinks industries to help them to promote British brands.

Elliot Morley: Defra promotes the export of British brands of food through sponsorship of and grant in aid to Food from Britain, which also assists with the marketing of regional speciality foods. As part of the Strategy on Sustainable Farming and Food, we have introduced a new structure and an additional 3 million over three years for regional food initiatives both in this country and overseas.

Terrorism

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what security guidelines her Department has issued in the last year to food (a) producers, (b) processors and (c) providers regarding potential terrorist action.

Elliot Morley: The Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group, which we have set up with the industry and which meets regularly, provides a forum for sharing of advice on security issues. We are also in regular contact with representatives of all parts of the food chain and pass on security information of relevance to them.

Illegal Meat Imports

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to advise people entering Britain of the illegality of importing meat; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 6 May 2003
	Information is displayed at ports of entry to the UK as well as at some foreign airports, and disseminated through many of our diplomatic posts abroad. In addition we have produced two videos and a radio filler. The videos are being broadcast on television and we continue to work with airlines to get our message across in-flight. An increasing number of airlines are now making in-flight announcements on the personal import rules. Our message on meat imports is currently advertised on seven million ticket wallets for long-haul destinations.
	Defra has recently produced a new leaflet setting out in detail the up-to-date rules on personal imports. This leaflet is being distributed via HM Customs, who have taken over responsibility for enforcement at the border, and for publicity at our ports and airports, at overseas destinations and in transit to the UK. Defra will retain responsibility for raising awareness within Britain of the fact that there are rules on the import of animal and plant products, the reasons for them and the penalties for breaking them, for example by attending appropriate shows and events.

LPG

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the environmental effects of liquid petroleum gas fuel in comparison with other fuels.

Alun Michael: An assessment of the environmental performance of various alternative fuels was carried out by the Cleaner Vehicles Task Force in 2000. A copy of their report is available via the DfT website, at www.dft.gov.uk. Copies are also available through the House of Commons Library. The research showed that road fuel gases can have environmental benefits over conventional fuels, particularly for air quality and noise, although progress with conventional engine and fuel technologies is reducing this advantage.
	As announced in Budget 2003, the Government plans to consult key stakeholders on how best to ensure that future support for LPG and other road fuel gases continues to reflect environmental and other policy objectives.

Rural Transport Schemes

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many rural transport schemes have been funded by the Government in each of the last five years, with the amounts given; and how many have been earmarked funding for the next two financial years, with the amounts given.

Alun Michael: Since 199899 the Countryside Agency has administered four rural transport schemes. In 200102 the Parish Transport Grant was launched and the Rural Transport Development Fund was amalgamated with the Rural Transport Partnership Scheme to form the Rural Transport Partnership. It would involve disproportionate cost to provide the number of projects funded under the Rural Transport Development Fund and the Rural Transport Partnership Scheme from 199899 to 200102. Since 2001, the Countryside Agency has been part of DEFRA's responsibilities while the Department for Transport funds rural bus projects through the Rural Bus Challenge and figures for this are also shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Rural Transport Development Fund Rural Transport Partnership(1) Parish Transport Grant Rural Bus Challenge(2) 
			 Year Number Funding (m) Number Funding (m) Number Funding Number Funding (m) 
		
		
			 199899 N/A 1.6 N/A 4.2 - - 46 11.2 
			 19992000 N/A 1.6 N/A 4.2 - - 58 16.8 
			 200001 N/A 1.6 N/A 4.2 - - 51 21.2 
			 200102 - - 278 8.0 40 2.0 58 20.5 
			 200203 - - 350 12.0 116 5.0 46 20.2 
			 200304 - - (3)350 (3)12.0 (3)200 (3)8.0 (4) (4) 
			 200405 - - (3)350 (3)12.0 (3)300 (3)7.0 (4) (4) 
		
	
	(1) Prior to 200102 this was called the Rural Transport Partnership Scheme
	(2) The Rural Bus Challenge is an annual competition and the level of funding refers to the total award granted to successful bids.
	(3) Budget and project targets in the Countryside Agency Business Plan.
	(4) DfT will administer a further round of the Challenge fund later this year.
	DfT has also funded improved transport services in rural areas through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant, and the 2003 Budget Statement announced the continuation of this grant to 200506. Local transport authorities can also use their own revenue resources and Local Transport Plan capital allocations for rural transport projects. Data on projects supported through these mechanisms is not centrally held.

Rural Transport Schemes

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the sources of funding available for rural transport schemes.

Alun Michael: Funding for rural transport schemes is available through the Department for Transport's Local Transport Plan process, Rural Bus Subsidy Grant and Rural Bus Challenge scheme, as well as the Countryside Agency's Rural Transport Partnership and Parish Transport Grant schemes. Local transport authorities can also use their own revenue resources for rural transport projects.

Water Companies

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to encourage (a) greater competition between water supply companies, (b) customer choice between water supply companies and (c) a choice of tariffs for customers; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government consulted in July 2002 on its proposals to extend opportunities for competition in the water industry in England and Wales. In the light of comments received, proposals were included in the Water Bill, now before Parliament.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Bullying

Ben Chapman: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will make a statement on measures to combat bullying in the Church.

Stuart Bell: A number of Church of England dioceses have produced their own guidelines for clergy on bullying and harassment and the Convocations of Canterbury and York will publish guidelines on professional conduct later this year.
	In addition, the National Church Institutions are committed to an equal opportunities policy containing a formal investigations and complaints procedure. The institutions require every member of their staff to attend an equal opportunities course, and harassment advisers are available to provide independent support and advocacy to anyone making a complaint.

DEFENCE

Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the terms of reference are of the Committee appointed by Major General Robin Brims to run Basra; how many people have been appointed; how many of these are women; and if he will list their names.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 14 April 2003
	United Kingdom Forces under the command of the General Officer Commanding 1st (UK) Armoured Division, are establishing interim consultative groups across the provinces of Basra and Maysan. These groups have no formal terms of reference. Their purpose is to help restore public administration and services. The number of appointees is increasing as the groups are established. Membership of the groups is open, to date there are no women representatives but we are actively seeking their participation. Because the status of the groups has yet to be formalised, I do not intend to list the names of their members, who may in any event not wish their involvement to be publicised.

Iraq

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what latest estimate he has had of the death toll from current hostilities in Iraq amongst (a) UK forces (b) US forces (c) Iraqi forces (d) Iraqi civilians and (e) other civilian non-combatants.

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the number of non-combatants killed in Iraq since 19 March.

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians are estimated to have been killed in Iraq by British armed forces in the recent conflict.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 7 May 2003
	As of 6 May 2003, 34 United Kingdom Service personnel had died during coalition military operations against Iraq.
	The number of fatalities suffered by US forces is a matter for the US authorities.
	We make every effort to minimise any impact on the Iraqi civilian population. We have no means of ascertaining the numbers of Iraqi military personnel or civilians, or other civilians who were killed or injured during the coalition's military action.

Iraq

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the book value is of ordnance, ammunition and missiles used up in the course of the conduct of operations in Iraq; how such book cost is calculated; what categories of munitions were used; and to what extent supplies will need to be replenished.

Adam Ingram: The cost for 200203 is being calculated. Once it has been audited and approved by the National Audit Office I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House. I will also cover 200304 estimates.

Aircraft Carriers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many escort vessels (a) he expects will be needed to accompany each new aircraft carrier when it enters service and (b) are needed to accompany each existing aircraft carrier on deployment.

Adam Ingram: The size and shape of any escort group supporting an aircraft carrier on deployment is dependent on the circumstances existing at the time. Various factors have to be considered, such as the nature and scale of a potential threat, the operating environment and whether the Task Group is deployed as part of a national or coalition force. We are introducing the modern and more capable Type 45 from 2007, fitted with the highly capable Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), which will support the existing and future aircraft carriers.

Anti-nuclear Protests

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was to his Department of additional security at the Faslane base caused by anti-nuclear protests in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203.

Adam Ingram: Additional security costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence as a result of anti-nuclear demonstrations at Faslane, which includes Her Majesty's Naval Base at Clyde and the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport are:
	200102: 311,000
	200203: 169,000
	The costs include the provision of additional MOD Police resources, overtime incurred by the existing MOD Guard Service and repairs to damaged MOD property.

Armed Forces Accommodation

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his Department's disposal targets are for married quarters estate stock in each of the next five years;
	(2)  what his Department's targets are for reducing the void rate levels in the married quarters estate; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many of his Department's married quarters were empty at 31 March 2003.

Lewis Moonie: 8,161 Service family properties in Great Britain were empty at 31 March 2003. The relevant targets set for the Defence Housing Executive (DHE) are expressed not in terms of numbers of houses for disposal but as the progressive reduction of void rates in order to achieve, by 2005, a management margin of 10 per cent. (The management margin is the proportion of working stock vacant).
	Some 12,000 properties have been passed by DHE for disposal since January 2000. Further disposals will be set in hand this year, but the Services have requested DHE hold back from disposal about another 2,000 vacant properties which may or may not be needed in future, depending on the resolution of Service deployment uncertainties.

Armed Forces Accommodation

Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new build units in the married quarters estate are planned by his Department in each of the next three years; and how many houses this will replace from the existing married quarters estate.

Lewis Moonie: The numbers of new build service family houses planned in Great Britain for the next three years, through both capital projects and Private Finance Initiative are as follows:
	
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 200304 415 
			 200405 476 
			 200506 315 
			 Total 1,206 
		
	
	It is difficult to specify how many existing family houses these new builds will replace. New build is often at locations where the requirements for service housing are new or increasing, and therefore the new houses are not intended as replacements, but they may indirectly replace housing at other locations where requirements are declining.

Armed Forces Accommodation

Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department's upgrade programme for the married quarters estate will be completed by 2005; how many units are part of this upgrade programme; how many units have been upgraded so far; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Good progress has been made with the upgrade programme for Service family housing in mainland United Kingdom. Since the establishment of the Defence Housing Executive (DHE) in 1995, the number of properties at Standard 1 For Condition has increased from only about 1,000 to about 21,000. About half the families housed by DHE are now in Standard 1 properties and some 90 per cent. in Standards 1 or 2. The upgrade programme will not be completed by 2005, but it will continue to progress towards the services' long-term requirement for family housing, currently estimated at around 41,000 properties. Demanding targets will be set for DHE each year depending on funds available.

Defence Review

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish the foreign policy base line for his Department's defence review.

Geoff Hoon: There is no defence review. I presume that the hon. Member is referring to the Defence White Paper issued each Parliament. I intend to publish this in the autumn. It is likely to include a description of the strategic environment in which our Armed Forces operate.

Eurofighter

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated total procurement cost for Eurofighter is; what the estimated (a) cost and (b) saving would be of cancellation of the third tranche of orders; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The estimated total procurement cost to the United Kingdom for Eurofighter Typhoon is 18.633 billion.
	Under the collaborative procurement arrangements for the project, the attribution of costs and savings from any cancellation of the third tranche of orders would need to be discussed and formally agreed between the four nations. No such discussions have taken place.

European Rapid Reaction Force

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role he envisages for (a) the Royal Navy and (b) the Royal Marines in an EU rapid reaction force.

Adam Ingram: There is no standing European Rapid Reaction Force. Under the Helsinki Headline Goal, EU member states have identified relevant forces and capabilities that might be contributed to EU-led crisis-management operations.
	As regards Naval and Royal Marines forces, the United Kingdom offer includes 18 warships, as well as amphibious infantry. Committing forces to EU-led operations is a matter for national governments to decide in the light of the circumstances of each operation.

Future Carrier Programme

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether BAe and Thales have structured the (a) terms and (b) work share of their partnership in the CVF programme.

Adam Ingram: Both BAE Systems and Thales UK have agreed to take the programme forward on the basis of the allocation of roles and responsibilities outlined in the announcement made by the Secretary of State for Defence on 30 January 2003. Specifically, they have agreed to the contract for Demonstration and Manufacture being managed and executed by a single, integrated team staffed from both organisations and the Ministry of Defence. BAE Systems will lead as preferred Prime-contractor with Thales UK as Key Supplier participating in key management posts within the integrated team. The precise terms of the contract remain the subject of on-going negotiations which are due to complete by the end of this year.

Future Carrier Programme

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the benefits of moving the CVF contract to a Target Cost Incentive Fee.

Adam Ingram: No final decision has been taken on the CVF pricing strategy. The most appropriate pricing mechanism for incentivising contractors' performance is generally a choice between firm or fixed prices, or a target cost incentive fee. CVF is a complex programme and the balance of advantage between these options is being carefully weighed in order to secure the optimum arrangement. The way forward will be finalised as part of the main investment decision early in 2004.

Future Carrier Programme

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects Assessment Phase Stage 3 of the CVF programme to be completed; and whether he plans to extend the time scale of this phase.

Adam Ingram: It is planned that the CVF Assessment Phase Stage 3 contract will ran up to the end of November 2003. It will also contain contract options to enable the continuation of work through to the planned award of the Demonstration and Manufacture contract in the spring of 2004. This is consistent with our plan at the commencement of the CVF Assessment Phase, which called for the award of a build contract in spring 2004.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next intends to visit the British military base on Gibraltar.

Adam Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence visited British Forces Gibraltar in July 2001 and hopes to visit them again later this year. I visited at the end of last year, similarly other defence Ministers will visit regularly.

Gulf War Illnesses

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards the former service personnel suffering from Gulf War illnesses, with particular reference to the War Pensions Tribunal adjudication in the case of Lance Corporal Alex Izett, RE.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 12 May 2003
	The Ministry of Defence takes the ill health veterans of the 199091 Gulf conflict extremely seriously. It is addressing their concerns by providing medical help through the Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme and financial assistance through pensions and fundig scientific research. Gulf veterans who are concerned about their health should contact the MOD's Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Unit on Freephone: 0800 169 4495.
	We have asked the independent Medical Research Council to carry out a formal review of research to date and recommend what further work we should sponsor. This is expected to the published later this month.
	The Pensions Appeal Tribunal (PAT) decided in December 2002 that Mr Izett was ill as a result of the immunisations he was given. It was only necessary for him under the provisions of the war pensions scheme to raise a reasonable doubt of a causal link between ill-health and Service. The PAT accepted such a doubt had been raised and therefore allowed the appeal. Whilst we disagree with the PAT's decision, such decisions can only be challenged on a point of law. There is no point on which MOD can mount an appeal.

Ministry Land

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what conditions he stipulates about the areas of MoD-owned land over which particular hunts may hunt.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 12 May 2003
	Specific conditions on access to Ministry of Defence land may be stipulated to an individual hunt as part of their licence for hunting. These conditions are laid out in the Schedules to the Hunting licence. MOD may at its discretion deny access to any scheduled land; advance notice will be given to the Hunt of seven days under normal circumstances or 48 hours in case of emergency. All hunting applications must be made in writing by the Hunt to the Defence Estates office within the relevant area and a 'Permission to Hunt' form must be completed by each recognised hunt before any fixture takes place. As part of this form there are schedules which may contain conditions applicable to each individual hunt.

Ministry Land

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many acres of land were used on a permanent basis by his Department in England (a) in 1980, (b) in 1990, (c) in 2000 and (d) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Lewis Moonie: The defence estate is kept under continuous review to ensure that it is no larger than is required. Since 2000 the Estate has consisted of some 240,000 hectares (approximately 593,000 acres).
	The information for previous years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Naval Deployment (Gulf)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what Royal Naval and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels remain on deployment in the Gulf; and what the scheduled dates are for the return of each;
	(2)  if he will list the Royal Naval and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels which have completed their deployments as part of the second Gulf war task force, together with the dates of deployment for each vessel.

Adam Ingram: On the 6 May 2003 the following ships remain deployed on Operations in the Gulf region: Frigates HMS Chatham and HMS Richmond supported by the RFA tanker Brambleleaf on routine peacetime level deployments; Mine counter measures vessels HMS Grimsby, HMS Ledbury, HMS Ramsey and HMS Shoreham remain in theatre to conduct Mine Clearance Operations, Defence diplomacy and to exercise with Gulf Co-operation Council nations.
	By 6 May 2003, only the submarine HMS Turbulent will have completed its deployment in the recent Gulf action, as marked by its return to the United Kingdom on 16 Apr 2003.
	All other units which took part in the conflict, are currently on passage to the UK or are continuing with their previously scheduled deployments elsewhere.
	I am withholding information on specific operational programming dates for RN and RFA units under Exemption 1a (National security) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Officer Training

Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the senior officers who have completed the Higher Command and Staff course since it was established.

Lewis Moonie: Those United Kingdom officers who have completed the Higher Command and Staff Course since it was established are listed in a table which has been placed in the Library.

Public Access (Military Training Areas)

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) legislation he has introduced and (b) regulations he has issued in the last 12 months which has resulted in new restrictions on (i) the general public and (ii) controlled public access to military training areas.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 12 May 2003
	None.

RAF Deaths

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) RAF have been killed while in service (i) in action, (ii) in action through friendly fire, (iii) by accident on operations, (iv) by accident on exercise and (v) by other means between (A) 11 September 1999 and 11 September 2001 and (B) 11 September 2001 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Royal Navy (Co-operation)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent co-operation there has been between units of the Royal Navy and of the French Navy.

Adam Ingram: Royal Navy and French Navy ships are occasionally attached to our respective Task Group deployments on a purely bilateral basis. The most recent attachments were those of FS Primauguet to the Naval Task Group (NTG) 2003 between 17 to 29 January 2003 and the French Minehunter, FS Cassiopee, to a Royal Navy Mine Countermeasure Group between 21 January to 7 March 2003. This followed the attachment of FS Aconit during the NTG 2000 deployment which built on the successful integration of HMS Somerset, followed by HMS Grafton, in the French Task Group during operations in the Adriatic in 1999. Such integration between our naval forces is considered routine business.

Royal Marines

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the flame-retardant properties of Royal Marines' uniforms.

Adam Ingram: The standard issue uniform for the Royal Marines is the tri-service Combat Soldier 95 (CS95) or, if deployed in desert climates, its desert pattern equivalent. Neither has flame-retardant properties as Operational Analysis shows that the soldier on the battlefield faces a minimal risk from burn injuries.

Submarine Fleet

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the (a) size and (b) composition of the submarine fleet.

Adam Ingram: The Department regularly reviews the Defence programme in order to deliver the optimum operational capability within available resources. There are no current plans to alter the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent submarine fleet (SSBN), however, in line with the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the Royal Navy's Swiftsure and Trafalgar class attack submarine (SSN) force level will reduce to 10 vessels by 2006. It is intended that the Swiftsure and Trafalgar class capability will be progressively superseded by new Astute class vessels through a phased replacement programme.

Tomahawk

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK submarines have been fitted with the Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and are ready for service; and what other improvements and refits have been carried out upon submarines.

Adam Ingram: Five RN submarines are Tomahawk capable. Three are currently fully operational, with the fourth, HMS Spartan, undergoing sea trials before returning to the fleet in mid 2003, and the fifth, HMS Trafalgar, undergoing a fleet time maintenance period planned to complete in the first quarter of 2004.
	In common with all RN vessels, submarines are subject to improvements and modifications throughout their operational lives. Details of all improvements and refits conducted could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, in addition to the fitting of Tomahawk, recently completed major upgrades have included major sonar improvements, a Submarine Command System upgrade, addition of the Spearfish Torpedo Weapons systems and various communications equipment upgrades. Re-fuelling of the submarines' nuclear reactors has also been undertaken during Long Overhaul Periods.
	Additionally, I refer my hon. Friend to my recent answer on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 311W, to the hon. Member for New Forest (Dr. Lewis) detailing the last upkeep periods that included a major upgrade for the current Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines. Also HMS Vanguard is currently undergoing the first Long Overhaul period and re-fuelling of the Vanguard Class submarines.

Type 23 Frigate

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the annual financial savings from a decision to dispose of a Type 23 frigate.

Adam Ingram: There are currently no plans to dispose of any Royal Navy Type 23 frigates earlier than scheduled. The annual financial savings arising from a decision to dispose of a Type 23 frigate prematurely would vary according to the circumstances. An Investment Appraisal would be conducted, including an examination of the resource accounting implications (eg depreciation, cost of capital charges etc.). Any decision, however, would be dependent on the Royal Navy's ability to maintain the required level of capability to meet its current and contingent operational requirements.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to equip Type 45 destroyers with Tomahawk land attack missiles.

Adam Ingram: As I made clear in my answer of 24 February Official Report, column 303W, the principal role of the Type 45 Destroyers will be Anti-Air Warfare. However, these ships are being designed and built with significant space and weight margins to enable incremental acquisition should an emerging requirement necessitate a different equipment fit. Our requirements are being kept under review, and the design could be modified, to incorporate improved land attack capabilities, including a cruise missile system such as Tomahawk.

War Pensions Claims

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what percentage of reviews of applications for (a) war disability pension and (b) war widows pension were (i) successful and (ii) successful when the claimant was represented by the Royal British Legion at independent tribunal in each of the last three years.
	(2)  what percentage of reviews of applications for (a) war disability pension and (b) war widows pension were successful in each of the last three years.

Lewis Moonie: The percentages of successful entitlement appeals in respect of war disability pensions and war widow(er)s pensions heard by Pensions Appeal Tribunals for each of the last three years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Year War disability pension (percentages) War widow(er)s pension (percentages) 
		
		
			 2002 41 26 
			 2001 45 32 
			 2000 39 20 
		
	
	The percentages of successful appeals in terms of an increased assessment in respect of war disability pensions heard by the Pensions Appeal Tribunals are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year War Disability Pension percentage 
		
		
			 2002 36 
			 2001 34 
			 2000 31 
		
	
	We are unable to provide figures for the number of successful appeals where the claimant was represented by the Royal British Legion.

War Pensions Claims

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims for (a) war disability pension and (b) war widows pension are awaiting review.

Lewis Moonie: At present there are some 1,200 appeals where the case papers have been prepared and are awaiting a tribunal hearing. It is not possible to provide separate figures in respect of war disablement pensions or war widow(er)s pensions.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to dispose of Royal Navy frigates and destroyers which are not scheduled for fitting with Sonar 2087.

Adam Ingram: Sonar 2087, a Low Frequency Active Sonar system, is planned to be fitted in 12 of the 16 Royal Navy Type 23 Frigates but not to any Destroyers. Since it is designed for Anti-Submarine Warfare, there are at present no plans to fit the system in other types of Royal Navy vessels, nor for those Frigates not currently scheduled to be fitted with Sonar 2087 to be disposed of earlier than planned previously.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to sell (a) Type 22 and (b) Type 23 frigates to Chile within the next 12 months.

Adam Ingram: There are no Royal Navy Type 22 or Type 23 frigates planned to become available for sale within the next 12 months. However we have recently concluded a Government to Government Sales Agreement with Chile for HMS Sheffield, a Batch 2 Type 22 frigate.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Indonesia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guarantees have been given to the UK Government on the use by the Indonesian armed forces of military equipment exported by the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Senior members of the Indonesian Government and armed forces have repeatedly assured us that UK-supplied military equipment will not be used to suppress human rights in Indonesia. Despite allegations there have been no confirmed reports of offensive use of UK-built military equipment.

Slovakia

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to discontinue the visa requirements for Slovak nationals who wish to visit the UK.

Bill Rammell: All visa regimes, including that in respect of Slovak nationals, are kept under constant review and are lifted when it is judged that the circumstances which gave rise to the imposition of the requirement have been addressed. The visa regime on Slovak nationals will be lifted as soon as possible and at the latest by May 2004, when the Slovak Republic becomes a full member state of the European Union.

Amina Lawal

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Nigerian Government on the death sentence on Amina Lawal since the recent decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for South Swindon (Julia Drown) during questions to the Foreign Secretary on 6 May 2003, Official Report, col. 528.

Export Licences

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what correspondence was exchanged between Foreign Office Ministers and Mr. David Mills; and what representations were made to the British Embassy in Washington on his behalf concerning the sale of (a) aircraft and (b) aircraft parts to Iran.

Jack Straw: Mr. David Mills wrote to my noble Friend Baroness Symons on 9 July 2002, and she replied on 16 July 2002. The British Embassy in Washington was consulted for advice on the drafting of the Minister's response, but no representations were made on Mr. Mills' behalf concerning the sale of aircraft, or aircraft parts, to Iran.

Export Licences

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Ministers from his Department contacted the UK Embassy in Washington to make representations to the US Government on selling jets to Iranian airlines; which Ministers sought the advice; what advice was sought; from which United States agencies it was sought; what reply was received; and to whom advice was passed outside his Department.

Jack Straw: No FCO Minister has contacted the British Embassy in Washington to make representations to the US Government on selling jets to Iranian airlines.

Export Licences

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written Ministerial Statement on Export Licences (Iran), Official Report, 26 March, column 6WS, from which (a) agencies, (b) bodies and (c) individuals advice was sought on the decision that the Iran Working Group should no longer convene to consider export licence applications to that country.

Jack Straw: All appropriate experts and advisers within the Ministry of Defence, Department of Trade and Industry and Foreign and Commonwealth Office were consulted on this procedural change. The final decision was agreed jointly by the Ministers concerned.

Gender Strategy

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the gender strategy for his Department.

Mike O'Brien: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's gender strategy is encapsulated in our strategic framework document on Diversity, Investing for Tomorrow. I will place a copy in the Library of the House. In order to advance gender diversity in the Department, the FCO has a Gender Advisory Group, chaired by a member of the FCO Board.

Gibraltar

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that Gibraltar meets its obligations under the Directive on a General Framework for Equal Treatment in Employment (2000/78/EC) in time for the stated implementation deadline of 2 December 2003.

Denis MacShane: Gibraltar Government officials are aware that this Directive must be transposed by 2 December 2003. We understand that they intend to complete this process within the required timescale. We will provide technical assistance if required.

Gibraltar

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that Gibraltar meets its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, as expressed in the judgment of 9 January 2003 of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of L and V v. Austria, to equalise the homosexual and heterosexual ages of consent

Denis MacShane: We have informed the Gibraltar Government that we believe the age of consent should be equalised for homosexual and heterosexual couples to avoid a breach of Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR. The Gibraltar Government are now considering how to do so.

Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the delegates who elected a mayor and council in Mosul on 5 May 2003 were women; and how many of those elected to office were women.

Mike O'Brien: We do not know the procedure by which the town council was chose, nor do we know its composition. I have asked the British official working with the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Northern Iraq to find out. When she replies, I will write to my hon. Friend.

Liberia

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department has given to the Liberian peace talks and the Bamako Talks.

Bill Rammell: Through the International Contact Group on Liberia, the UN and the EU, we are working to facilitate the peace process in Liberia and to encourage all sides to enter into ceasefire negotiations. We welcome the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Inter-religious Council of Liberia to promote reconciliation in Liberia.
	Initial peace talks between the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Liberian Government took place in Freetown under the auspices of ECOWAS in early February. These were not followed up in Bamako as had been planned.

SARS

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice is being given to British nationals who reside in (a) China, (b) Thailand, (c) Japan, (d) Canada, (e) New Zealand and (f) Australia regarding the SARS virus.

Mike O'Brien: British nationals residing abroad are able to receive up-to-date information about the SARS virus via the Travel Advice pages of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk) and by remaining in contact with their nearest embassy, high commission or consulate. In addition, our missions in Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzou, where the SARS outbreak has been most serious, produce information notices on SARS for the British community which are updated regularly. British nationals resident in Australia, New Zealand and Canada also have access to the advice on SARS provided by the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Governments.
	The travel advice on the FCO website contains links to the websites of the Department of Health and the World Health Organisation where more general information on the SARS virus, its symptoms and precautionary measures against it, can be found. Travel advice is also available by telephone around the clock, on 0870 606 0290.

Zimbabwe

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the British Council has had with the Movement for Democratic Change in Harare on public sector training (a) inside and (b) outside Zimbabwe.

Bill Rammell: The British Council is a non-political organisation. It has not discussed these issues with the MDC.

Zimbabwe

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to President Mugabe on the arrest and treatment of MDC Members of Parliament; and if he will publish his dossier on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

Bill Rammell: We have repeatedly condemned the Mugabe regime for its violent attacks on the MDC. Most recently, the UK was at the forefront of preparing a resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Commission on Human Rights. This condemned the Government of Zimbabwe for its attacks on the opposition and civil society and called upon it to comply with its international human rights obligations.
	We receive detailed information on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe from numerous non-governmental and civil society organisations. We do not intend to publish a dossier of their findings, as this would only duplicate their reporting.

Zimbabwe

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss human rights abuses in Zimbabwe with President Mbeki during his visit to South Africa.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will discuss Zimbabwe with the South African Government. He will explain that our objective is to see an end to the politically motivated violence and human rights abuses and the beginning of multi-party dialogue in Zimbabwe, as a first step towards restoring good governance and economic prosperity.

Zimbabwe

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Movement for Democratic Change in Harare with respect to the reform programme for Zimbabwe once President Mugabe stands down.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed this. Any future reform programme for Zimbabwe will be a matter for a future Zimbabwean Government. We would monitor such a programme closely and engage with it where appropriate, but we are not trying to pre-judge such a process.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Zimbabwe

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the Movement for Democratic Change in Harare on plans to fund public service programmes (a) inside and (b) outside Zimbabwe.

Sally Keeble: My Department receives requests to fund development projects from many organisations. This has included contacts from MDC MPs and MDC run local government bodies. As with similar requests from ZANU-PF MPs and bodies, our response is that we are currently giving priority to humanitarian assistance and HIV/AIDS programmes. DFID is not funding public service programmes outside of these issues at present.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Employers' Liability Insurance

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of small firms that have closed citing the cost of employers liability insurance in each year since 199798; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the cost of employers liability insurance does not force small firms to close.

Nigel Griffiths: It is not possible to attribute the closure of businesses to a single factor such as the cost of employers liability insurance, and meaningful estimates are therefore unavailable. 1.7 million businesses have started since 1997. The Government's review of the Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) system, which is due to report shortly, aims to assess the scale and nature of the current difficulties being experienced in relation to ELCI, in particular the extent to which these difficulties are likely to be short-term only, repeated in the future or permanent. The Government continue to encourage insurers, brokers and business to work together to mitigate these current difficulties.

EU Committees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU advisory committee for implementation of the Community market-access strategy, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House.

Patricia Hewitt: The advisory committee for the implementation of the Community market access strategy is established under Council Decision (98/552/EC) for consultation among member states and the Commission to assist in its activities set out in Article 1 of the Decision. As an advisory committee it does not take decisions, which remain the prerogative of the Commission.
	Details of the market access strategyincluding access to the market access database, a key componentare available on-line at: http://europa.eu.int/comm./trade/mk access/index en.htm and http://mkaccdb.eu.int/ The committee has met twice since January 2002, on 6 June and 4 December 2002; one DTI official represented the UK on each occasion.
	A principal issue at these meetings was how the market access database could be developed into a more effective and more user friendly tool for traders. To this end, the Commission has now added new sections on market studies and on statistics and existing sections have been expanded. The committee also discussed the setting up of a new help desk, or one stop shop, to assist developing countries extend their export capability to the EU.
	In accordance with Council Decision 1999/268/EC on simplifying the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission, the Commission publishes an annual report on the working of committees. The latest report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 13 January 2003 (Commission Document 5060/2003).
	The UK Government have encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, their agendas and recent actions to be accessible through the Commission's website.

Export Licences

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Government Department is responsible for the enforcement and monitoring of arms licences (a) outside and (b) within the UK; and which civil servants are tasked with enforcement.

Nigel Griffiths: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in overseas posts are asked to monitor goods exported under licence where appropriate. HM Customs and Excise are responsible for enforcement of UK export controls. Officials from the Export Control Organisation in the DTI monitor compliance with the terms of open export licences.

Fairtrade

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to continue to support the DfID in its efforts to get wider recognition and acceptance of Fairtrade goods; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: I strongly support the aims of the Fairtrade movement and welcome the fact that fairly traded products are a growing part of the UK market. I am increasingly concerned by the low prices received by commodity farmers and have set up an Industry/Government Working Party to look at ways of securing improved livelihoods for commodity producers in developing countries. I believe that Fairtrade is a small but important part of the answer to the problems experienced by these commodity workers.
	The Government, through the Department for International Development have provided 0.5 million over the last two years to the Fairtrade Foundation to help with its marketing campaigns.
	I have also ensured that Fairtrade tea and coffee is available throughout the DTI and I have encouraged other cabinet colleagues to do the same. My hon. Friend the Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness, held a meeting with business leaders in November to look at further ways of mainstreaming Fairtrade as part of an ongoing dialogue on this important issue.

Fur Imports

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken to (a) control and (b) prohibit the import of furs of domestic cats and dogs.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government are investigating possibilities for labelling any products that may contain domestic cat and dog fur. Equally we are working to ensure a reliable scientific test is in place to validate the accuracy of any such labels. This will give consumers the information they want about what exactly they are buying.
	It has not proved possible to determine either through trade statistics or through scientific testing, what level of imports of these products, if any, is entering the UK. Therefore the Government do not consider any prohibition on imports to be proportionate to the scale of the problem at this time.

International Coffee Organisation

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with her US counterpart regarding the possibility of the USA joining the International Coffee Organisation.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State has had no direct discussion with her US counterpart on this issue. However, the UK supported International Coffee Organisation Council Resolution 413, approved on 27 September 2002, inviting the USA to join.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 106W, on Iraq (Reconstruction), what discussions the Government have had with EU partners on equality of treatment in bidding for contracts to aid the reconstruction of Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: As I have made clear in this House and to the US authorities, we expect UK companies to play a significant role in the redevelopment of Iraq. We will continue to discuss with companies the best way of ensuring that their expertise is put to full use. In this context, we have established an Industry Working Group, which will act as a channel of communication to industry in our work to help companies access opportunities. We are also planning to hold a joint seminar with the US authorities in London in late May, which will present an excellent opportunity for UK companies to meet key US departments and contractors.
	It is clearly important that there is a level playing field for companies who are interested in participating in the redevelopment of Iraq. We have made this clear to the US authorities. The Government have had no discussions with EU Partners on this issue.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2003, Official Report, column 106W, on Iraq (Reconstruction), which British companies have been invited to tender for contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq; what the process is for bidding for contracts; who decides the criteria for inclusion in the tender list; how many contracts have been let; what each contract is for; what the value of each contract is; what the overall budget for the reconstruction of Iraq is; who has contributed to the budget; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: We expect UK companies to play a significant role in the redevelopment of Iraq. In the shot-term US funding is likely to be the main source of opportunities for UK companies. Full details of the US contracts are available on US Government websites. There is no overall agreed budget for the reconstruction of Iraq. We are in close contact with the US authorities and others about financing the reconstruction.
	Andrew Natsios of USAID has confirmed to me that UK companies will be allowed and indeed encouraged to bid for US funded sub-contracts. We have agreed with the US authorities to hold a joint seminar in London in late May. This demonstrates US interest in ensuring that UK companies are involved. While we expect UK companies to bid for and win contracts, companies are not obliged to inform us if and when they have done so.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2003, Official Report, column 106W, on Iraq (Reconstruction), what the process for decisions on awarding contracts to companies for the reconstruction of Iraq is; who makes the final decision; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: In the short-term US funded contracts are likely to be the main source of opportunities for UK companies looking to get involved in the redevelopment process in Iraq. Under US law, only US companies can be awarded primary contracts. However, the law has been relaxed to allow UK companies to bid for sub-contracts. It will be for the prime contractors to decide on the awarding of sub-contracts. We will continue to work with companies to ensure that they are as best placed as possible to participate in the redevelopment process.

Military Technologies

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken in the last three years to advise exporters of military sensitive technologies of their responsibilities in such exports.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation (ECO) has taken a number of steps to advise exporters of their responsibilities under UK strategic export controls. These include seminars, workshops, rating advisory service, electronic notification of changes to procedures and controls, and a telephone helpline. Further details of the help and advice available to exporters is available from the ECO's website www.dti.gov.uk/export.control.

Multi-national Enterprises (Complaints)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many formal complaints have been received by the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multi-national Enterprises; and what action has been taken.

Patricia Hewitt: Since the most recent revision of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multi-national Enterprises which took place in June 2000, the United Kingdom National Contact Point (NCP) has been in receipt of two formal complaints. The first was received on 27 February 2002, in respect of an alleged breach by a UK based company of the guidelines arising from its activities in Africa. The NCP replied to this submission on 1 March 2002. Further details with regard to action taken are governed by the confidentiality provisions of the Guidelines.
	The second complaint was only received on 29 April 2003 and concerned an alleged breach of the guidelines by an international consortium led by a UK plc. operating in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. So far, the complaint has been acknowledged and copied to the company concerned.

Regional Development Agencies

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the sustainable development remit of the regional development agencies.

Alan Johnson: Section 4 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 gives the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) a statutory purpose to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom where it is relevant to its area to do so.

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress the Department has made towards the goal set out in the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, of (a) ensuring that regional awareness and devolution feature strongly in civil service training and development, (b) increasing the mobility of civil servants between headquarters offices, regional offices, and the Government Offices and (c) encouraging interchange between the civil service and organisations in the regions.

Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office set out the overall civil service perspective on the goal set out in the White Paper in his reply of 14 April 2003, Official Report, columns 60203W. My Department has a key role in our regional agenda and has members of staff in every regional Government Office. We are committed to regional awareness and development and are progressing towards the goal. Regional awareness and devolution issues are always incorporated into internal DTI training where relevant. Vacancies arising in HQ offices, regional offices and the Government Offices are advertised to all DTI staff through our vacancy advertising scheme. We encourage people in the Department to consider posts in these offices as part of their career development.
	Our central records show that in 200203, 80 external secondees took up a secondment in my Department, of whom 63 per cent. were seconded from organisations based outside London. This represents an increase of 20 per cent. over the previous year.
	During the same period, 22 members of DTI staff took up secondments in external organisations, of whom 41 per cent. were seconded to organisations based outside London. This represents an increase of 1 per cent. over the previous year.

Trade Publications

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what publications promoting British trade are funded or part-funded, by her Department; and how much was spent on such funding in 200203

Nigel Griffiths: holding answer 12 May 2003
	During 200203, a number of publications were produced that were aimed at developing British overseas trade. These were funded and part funded centrally by British Trade International at a cost of 389,500. The publications are:
	Flagship brochure Business Success Overseas
	Business Success Overseas2 Welsh version
	Guide to services provided by COI for exporters
	8 Sector publications
	Overseas Trade Magazine10 issues
	200203 Annual Review
	The DTI also funds the New Products from Britain service, which promotes British products and services to potential overseas buyers. This includes leaflets, catalogues and brochures which cost a total of 272,326 in 200203.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Tax

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average percentage council tax change was for council tax payers in England in 2003.

Christopher Leslie: In 200304 the average Band D council tax in England has increased by 12.9 per cent.

EU Committees

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU advisory committee on the development and reconversion of regions, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	The Committee is chaired by DG REGIOthe Directorate General for the regions. All of its activities are a matter of record with all the information sought in (a) to (d) available on the Commission's website.
	As the CDCR is an advisory committee there is no requirement to communicate any decisions directly to the House.
	The Committee has met nine times since the answer I gave to the House on 4 July 2002. Its structure and remit are unchanged.

Housing

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many publicly owned residential units there are within each of the six districts of Cornwall and on the Isles of Scilly, broken down by (a) lead government department and (b) proportion of each district within each of the four parliamentary constitutencies.

Tony McNulty: Information on the numbers of publicly owned dwellings in each local authority area in England is collected as part of the annual Housing Investment Programme round. The most recently reported figures for the six districts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are tabled:
	
		Stock of dwellings as at 1 April 2002:
		
			  
		
		
			  
			 Caradon 3,869 
			 Carrick 4,015 
			 Kerrier 336 
			 North Cornwall 3,796 
			 Penwith 0 
			 Restormel 183 
			 Isles of Scilly 121 
		
	
	Source
	ODPM's 2002 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns completed by local authorities.
	Notes
	Penwith and Kerrier went through a Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) where all or most of the local authority stock has been transferred to the RSL sector.
	Figures include public dwelling stock owned by other local authorities in that geographical area. Also included in the figures are those owned by the local authority for non-housing purposes, by Housing Action Trusts, government departments and other public sector agencies.
	(a) The number of publicly owned residential units broken down by lead government department is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	(b) The number of publicly owned residential units broken down by proportion of each district within each of the four parliamentary constituencies are also not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Finance (Worcester)

Michael Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage increases in local government grant were awarded to Worcester City Council in each year since 199293.

Nick Raynsford: There are two funding streams to help support revenue funding by local authorities. These are Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and redistributed non-domestic rates (NNDR). It is important to look at the total of these funding streams (formula grant) in order to compare support from central government year-on-year, since the level of non-domestic rates can vary year-on-year.
	Since 1997 there have been many changes in local government functions and funding. To enable a like-for-like comparison between years, we calculate adjusted grants. The percentage change figures have been calculated on the basis of these like-for-like comparisons.
	However, until the introduction of Central Support Protection Grant in 19992000, there was no need to calculate grant on a like-for-like basis. For this reason grant comparisons in the years between 199293 and 199899 do not make logical sense and are not available. For information, the unadjusted grant amounts for these years are still shown.
	The following table shows the amount of formula grant (which consists of RSG, NNDR and SSA Reduction Grant (where appropriate)) received by Worcester City Council during the period. The table also shows the percentage year-on-year changes in formula grant on a like-for-like basis where possible.
	The large decrease in formula grant between 199293 and 199394 represents a significant change in the way formula grant was paid. Up until 199293 all formula grant was paid to the billing authority and then paid by the billing authority to other tiers of authority. In subsequent years each authorities grant has been paid directly and hence billing authorities receive less grant.
	
		
			 Year Formula grant (i.e.RSG+NNDR)( millions) Increase in formula grant, (percentages) 
		
		
			 199293 40,482 n/a 
			 199394 5,518 n/a 
			 199495 6,065 n/a 
			 199596 6.037 n/a 
			 199697 6.098 n/a 
			 199798 5.981 n/a 
			 199899 6.388 n/a 
			 19992000 6,477 1.4 
			 200001 6.723 3.8 
			 200001(5) 6.772  
			 200102 6.926 2.3 
			 200102(5) 6.832  
			 200203 7.088 3.7 
			 200203(5) 6.928  
			 200304 7.147 3.2 
		
	
	(5) Adjusted

Local Government Finance (Worcester)

Peter Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy not to apply resource equalisation to the budget of Worcestershire County Council in future financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: Resource equalisation has been part of the revenue funding system for many years, where it serves an important purpose in helping to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of central Government support between local authorities. It is the Government's intention that an allowance for the differing ability of local authorities to raise income locally from council taxpayers should remain an integral part of the grant distribution system for all authorities.

Postal Voting

Linda Perham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to extend the pilots for postal voting used during the recent local elections to other areas.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been very encouraged by the early indications that all-postal voting has been a success in the May 2003 local elections, and in the light of the Electoral Commission's evaluation of each pilot scheme we shall decide what steps to take on extending postal voting at local elections. Before making all-postal voting available as an option in all local elections, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister would consult widely.

Regional Assemblies

David Cameron: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what powers the shadow regional assemblies have; what their (a) membership, (b) cost and (c) remit are; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The existing eight Regional Chambers call themselves Assemblies, but they are not shadow bodies for the elected regional assemblies, whose potential remit was described in the 2002 White Paper Your Region, Your Choice. The Chambers initially came together voluntarily to act as a focal point for considering issues of regional interest.
	The Chambers are designated under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 as representative regional bodies to scrutinize the plans and activities of the Regional Development Agencies. As of 1 April 2003, they have all chosen to become Regional Planning Bodies responsible for keeping regional planning guidance (RPG) under review and preparing any draft revisions as necessary. They collectively receive government grant of 11 million a year for these purposes. An additional 3 million is being made available from the Planning Delivery Grant fund for the purpose of improving their performance in the review of RPG. The bulk of their funding, to support their broader role as a regional focus, comes from local authority subscriptions and other sources.
	To meet the criteria for designation and receipt of grant their membership needs to be representative of the range of views and interests within the region. The Government expect at least 30 per cent. of Assembly measures to come from stakeholder groups, representative of business, trades unions, environmental, consumer and other groups. The remainder come from local government, and reflect the broad political balance across the region. The Government are not prescriptive about the size of the Assembly, provided that these criteria are met, and both the size of the Assembly and the selection process for membership vary from region to region.

Regional Assemblies

Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the responses of (a) the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, (b) the TUC Northern Region, (c) the TUC North West Region, (d) the IOD North West, (e) the North West Chambers of Commerce, (f) the Local Government Association North, (g) the Local Government Association North West, (h) English Regions Network, (i) the North West Regional Assembly, (j) the North West Constitutional Convention, (k) CBI North West, (l) CBI Northern and (m) Sustainability North West, to the recent consultation on regional government in the North West of England.

Nick Raynsford: The Government have asked for responses by 16 May to their soundings exercise on level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum on an elected regional assembly. An announcement will be made in due course as to the region(s) that will proceed towards holding referendums first. At the same time, the Government will publish a summary of the responses received and a breakdown of the responses by region and type of organisation. Where organisations have provided substantial evidence and have not asked that their responses be kept confidential, we will also make their responses available.

Regional Assemblies

Michael Spicer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish his plans for the holding of referendums on regional government.

Nick Raynsford: The Government published their proposals to hold referendums in those English regions where there is demand for them in their White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, on 9 May 2002. The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act, which enables referendums to be held, received Royal Assent on 8 May 2003. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister will announce shortly the region(s) in which he is directing local government reviews, the necessary precursor to referendums on elected regional assemblies.

Rent Service

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will give landlords the right to seek pre-tenancy rent determinations from the Rent Service.

Tony McNulty: The Rent Service already provides the equivalent of pre-tenancy determinations to landlords on request, providing that they can demonstrate that there is a tenant about to take up residence.
	In addition, the Rent Service is currently running a market rental guidance scheme, which includes the provision of pre-tenancy determinations for landlords. Further details of the scheme can be obtained from the Rent Service headquarters and its local offices.

Search Agents

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the comparative costs incurred by local authorities in (a) staff and (b) administrative time in dealing with enquiries from personal search agents making enquiries about land and property information (i) by post and (ii) electronically; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Local authorities are not required to provide this information to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and no assessment of costs incurred by local authorities has been made. Local authorities have discretionary powers to charge for answering inquiries about land and property made in connection with home sales and other transactions. In determining the amount of the charge, each authority has to have regard to its costs in dealing with such enquiries. Charges for Local Land Charges Register inquiries are prescribed by my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Chancellor, who is currently considering an application by the Local Government Association for an increase in the prescribed fees.

Standards Board for England

Peter Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints have been considered by the Standards Board for England against (a) parish or town councillors, (b) district councillors and (c) county councillors in Worcestershire; and how many of these complaints have been upheld.

Christopher Leslie: For parish and town councillors in Worcestershire: 85 allegations have been received by the Standards Board, of which 37 have so far been passed for investigation. Of the 29 completed cases, nine have been passed to the Adjudication Panel. Hearings are yet to be held.
	For district councillors in Worcestershire: 42 allegations have been received by the Standards Board, of which 14 have so far been passed for investigation. Of the seven completed cases none has produced evidence of breaches of the code where action is considered necessary.
	For county councillors in Worcestershire: two allegations have been received by the Standards Board. None of these has so far been passed for investigation.

Standards Board for England

Peter Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister why complainants to the Standards Board for England remain anonymous; and if he will make it his policy to require the disclosure of the names and addresses of complainants to councillors against whom complaints are made.

Christopher Leslie: The conduct of investigations into allegations of misconduct is a matter for the Standards Board for England and for ethical standards officers employed by the Board. I understand that it is the practice of the Board to provide anonymity for persons making allegations only in exceptional cases, where that person is considered vulnerable.

Standards Board for England

Peter Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints have been considered by the Standards Board for England against (a) parish or town councillors, (b) district councillors, (c) unitary authority councillors and (d) county councillors; and how many of these complaints have been upheld.

Christopher Leslie: For parish and town councillors: 1,805 allegations have been received by the Standards Board, of which 801 have so far been passed for investigation. Of the 404 completed cases, 90 have been passed for hearing to the Adjudication Panel. Of the 42 cases so far heard by the Adjudication Panel, 41 have concerned parish councillors, 40 of which were upheld.
	For district councillors: 839 allegations have been received by the Standards Board. 289 of these have so far been passed for investigation. Of the 114 completed cases, 24 have been passed for hearing to the Adjudication Panel. These are yet to be heard.
	For unitary authority councillors: 280 allegations have been received by the Standards Board. 88 of these have so far been passed for investigation. Of the 30 completed cases, one has been passed for hearing to the Adjudication Panel. This case is yet to be heard.
	For county councillors: 72 allegations have been received by the Standards Board. 13 have so far been passed for investigation. None has produced evidence of breaches of the code where action is considered necessary.

Tenants' Deposit Scheme

Louise Ellman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress is being made on implementing a statutory tenants' deposit scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister hopes to announce the outcome of the consultation on tenancy money and the Government's decision on future measures in due course.

Transport and Social Exclusion Report

Louise Ellman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps are being taken to implement the Cabinet Office report on Transport and Social Exclusion.

Barbara Roche: The Social Exclusion Unit (SEU), now part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, published its report Making the Connections: Transport and Social Exclusion, on 26 February this year. The Department for Transport (DfT) are leading on its implementation, and are co-ordinating work across Government to deliver the actions that it sets out. DfT is also established a working group of local authority transport practitioners to develop and pilot approaches to accessibility planning. This will inform guidance on accessibility planning to be issued by DfT and other relevant departments to inform the next round of Local Transport Plans.

Travellers

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to reform the law on the rights of travellers.

Tony McNulty: There are no current plans to reform the law on the rights of travellers.

Travellers

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he plans to take to require local authorities to provide sites for travellers and gypsies; which authority in areas with two tiers of local government is responsible for (a) the location, (b) the financing and (c) the management and maintenance of sites; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Local Authorities have discretionary powers to provide sites based on need within their area. The Government have no immediate plans to change this.
	Planning policies concerning the provision of suitable locations for Gypsy sites, whether local authority provided or private, is set out in the Department of Environment Circular 1/94 'Gypsy Sites and Planning'.
	The Government do not, however, specify who should take the lead in site provision issues in areas where there are two tiers of Local Government.

Travellers

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from (a) local authorities, (b) organisations representing travellers and gypsies and (c) others to allocate additional finance to provide the additional pitches for travellers and gypsies by 2007 to meet the Government's target.

Tony McNulty: The Government have received no representations concerning the allocation of additional finance to provide the number of additional pitches suggested by the research report The Provision and Condition of Local Authority Gypsy/Traveller Sites in England.

Travellers

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what procedures he has laid down for local authorities to bid for financial support for the provision of sites for gypsies and travellers; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Local authorities have a discretionary duty to provide sites based on need within their area. Where they identify a need, they would be expected to fund it. Planning policies concerning the provision of suitable locations for gypsy sites, whether local authority provided or private, is set out in the Department of Environment Circular 1/94 'Gypsy Sites and Planning'.
	In 2001, the Government made 17 million over three years via the Gypsy Site Refurbishment Grant. The grant allows local authorities to bring unused or under-used sites back into full use; and/or improve the facilities on sites; and to create new transit or emergency stopping sites. Bidding guidance and application forms are sent out to local authorities in the autumn. The guidance sets out the purpose for the scheme, how to bid, the criteria for assessment and conditions for payment.
	The Government recently announced a further two rounds of the grant, amounting to 16 million.

Travellers

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money is to be allocated in (a) this financial year and (b) the next financial year to assist local authorities in the provision of sites for gypsies and travellers; and whether the money can be used for replacement sites in areas where previous sites have closed.

Tony McNulty: The Gypsy Sites Refurbishment Grant is providing 8 million in 200304successful bids were announced in March 2003. A further 8 million per year will be available for 200405 and 200506.
	The grant may be used to bring under-used or closed sites back into use. Bids that involve re-location of sites will be eligible for consideration provided that planning permission has been obtained. Additionally, the grant may be used to create new temporary sites to enable Gypsies and Travellers to pursue their nomadic lifestyle.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Women's Sports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women what recent discussions she has had with the Minister of State for Sport regarding the promotion of women's sports in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 7 May 2003
	I have had no such recent discussions. However, I welcome the publication by my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport in December 2002 of a joint strategy document between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Strategy Unit which sets out our determination to improve opportunities for women at all levels in sport, whether as participants, competitors, coaches, or administrators.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Child Care Costs

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average cost of full-time child care in the Hemsworth constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The cost of child care reported in the Department for Education and Skills 200102 audit shows average costs for Wakefield, the LEA within which Hemsworth falls, of 83 per week for full day care. The audits were completed for each local authority by their respective Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships. The audits do not give a further breakdown for constituency areas.
	The Government recognise that making child care affordable is a key challenge for the National Childcare Strategy and have made a substantial investment to achieve this.
	Working parents, subject to the level of their income, may receive support through the child care element of the Working Tax Credit. Tax credits are rightly targeted at lower and middle income families who may use a range of types of child care. The child care element of the Working Tax Credit provides for up to 70 per cent. of costs of eligible child care. It can pay up to 94.50 a week for one child (where the child care cost is 135), and up to 140 a week for two or more children (where the cost is 200).
	1 million a day is now spent on supporting parents with child care costs through the Working Tax Credit.

A-Levels

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average number of A-level points obtained by students in (a) Lancashire, (b) the North West of England and (c) England was in 2002.

David Miliband: The average point scores of 1618 year old students entered for GCE/VCE A/AS examinations in Lancashire, the North West of England and in England in 2002 are shown as follows.
	
		
			  Average GCE/VCE A/AS point score(6) per candidate Average point score(6) per GCE/VCE A/AS examination entry 
		
		
			 (a) Lancashire 272.6 75.8 
			 (b) North West Region 246.7 71.8 
			 (c) England   
			 Maintained Sector 240.5 72.9 
			 Total England 254.5 76.0 
		
	
	(6) The number of points assigned to each GCE/VCE A/AS qualification and VCE Double Award reflects the UCAS Tariff.

Child Minding

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Childminding National Standards for England, Standard 2 section prohibits more than one baby under one year in a child minding setting; and what consultations were carried out prior to setting this standard.

Maria Eagle: The National Standards for under 8s child minding require that childminders should normally look after no more than one child under one-year-old. Ofsted guidance indicates that each case should be considered on its merits. Exceptions can be made to accommodate siblings. The National Standards were finalised in 2001 after extensive consultation. We are reviewing the Standards this year and, alongside other matters, are proposing to allow child minders to care for more than one baby under one if child minders have the necessary experience or training.

Education Costs

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average cost in 200203 of schooling for an individual student taking three A-levels at (a) an English maintained secondary school and (b) an English maintained sixth form college.

Margaret Hodge: The Learning and Skills Council's published rates show that the basic cost to the public purse of delivering three A-levels to a student in 2002/03 at an English maintained secondary school was 2,899. This figure comprises 733 for the delivery of each A-level course, and 697 for each student for the enrichment of their learning programme. The basic cost to the public purse of delivering three A-levels to a student at a sixth form college in 2002/03 was 2,641. This figure comprises 663 for the delivery of each A-level course, and 697 for each student for the enrichment of their learning programme. In each case additional funding may also be available to take account of the higher costs of delivering learning in particular geographical areas, in higher cost subjects, or to students with particular disadvantages or individual needs. We expect the funding gap between school sixth forms and sixth form colleges to narrow over the 2003/06 period while maintaining the real terms guarantee for school sixth forms.

Enterprise Advisers

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role enterprise advisers will play in secondary education.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 12 May 2003
	Enterprise Advisers will work in secondary schools in disadvantaged areas, providing advice to headteachers on the delivery of the enterprise initiative, improving school interaction with business and offering help and advice on way in which the schools themselves behave as businesses. We also see them as having a role in helping pupil motivation and attendance and contributing towards our reform of the school workforce. In some cases, the advisers will work full time in large schools, in others, they will provide advice on a part time basis.

Entertainment

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he has entertained Labour hon. Members at public expense in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Stephen Twigg: No such events have taken place.

Finance

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the amounts that education authorities in London have budgeted above or below their education formula spending shares in the 200304 financial year.

David Miliband: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		Comparison of Education Formula Spending Share and LEA budget figures for London LEAs, 200304
		
			 LEA name Total Education Revenue Expenditure(Net)EFS plus grants Difference 
		
		
			 Inner London
			 City of London 2,615,800 1,226,508 1,389,292 
			 Camden 113,342,594 107,985,343 5,357,251 
			 Greenwich 159,989,517 164,569,795 -4,580,278 
			 Hackney 127,533,250 137,287,270 -9,754,020 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 85,401,070 85,261,772 139,298 
			 Islington 114,560,504 119,107,877 -4,547,373 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 60,953,589 56,257,643 4,695,946 
			 Lambeth 148,594,202 148,891,564 -297,362 
			 Lewisham 165,390,368 165,893,736 -503,368 
			 Southwark 170,006,239 170,964,811 -958,572 
			 Tower Hamlets 190,557,010 188,115,846 2,441,164 
			 Wandsworth 122,857,794 129,861,892 -7,004,098 
			 Westminster 92,120,800 92,039,148 81,652 
			
			 Outer London
			 Barking and Dagenham 116,076,894 116,076,378 516 
			 Barnet 182,083,514 181,692,641 390,873 
			 Bexley 137,334,000 136,475,414 858,586 
			 Brent 156,674,000 165,980,786 -9,306,786 
			 Bromley 159,322,266 171,694,306 -12,372,040 
			 Croydon 180,515,679 185,271,856 -4,756,177 
			 Ealing 173,383,600 172,788,425 595,175 
			 Enfield 188,275,645 188,850,351 -574,706 
			 Harrow 108,779,529 108,880,485 -100,956 
			 Haringey 143,975,735 143,975,113 622 
			 Havering 128,712,757 127,784,035 928,722 
			 Hillingdon 150,604,139 153,162,645 -2,558,506 
			 Hounslow 141,509,011 142,454,999 -945,988 
			 Kingston upon Thames 74,808,013 73,125,099 1,682,914 
			 Merton 83,595,696 83,595,481 215 
			 Newham 204,977,803 216,163,763 -11,185,960 
			 Redbridge 155,929,715 158,559,815 -2,630,100 
			 Richmond upon Thames 72,793,300 68,027,091 4,766,209 
			 Sutton 110,191,837 110,191,973 -136 
			 Waltham Forest 141,330,292 145,461,125 -4,130,833 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures in this PQ refer to the whole Education budget, not just the Schools budget.
	2. This PQ looks at the total level of planned spend by the authority compared to their formula allocation. This is a different issue to passporting which looks at the increase in the schools budget, compared to the formula increase.
	3. Total Education Revenue Expenditure figures are drawn from Table 1 of the section 52 budget statements for 200304. Figures are as reported by LEAs on 6 May 2003 and are subject to change.
	4. Total Education Revenue Expenditure (net) includes an adjustment for LSC SEN allocations where these had been clearly omitted.
	5. EFS plus grants includes EFS, departmental LSC allocations, Specific Formula grants (including EiC) and London budget support grant for comparability.

Independent Schools

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children of compulsory school age attended independent schools in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Miliband: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Independent schools: Number and percentage of pupils of compulsory school age(7): England
		
			 Position in Januaryeach year: 1999 to2003 (Provisional) Number of pupils in all schools Percentage of pupils attending independent schools(8) 
		
		
			 1999 6,919,812 6.0 
			 2000 6,963,773 6.0 
			 2001 6,992,843 6.1 
			 2002 6,984,413 6.1 
			 2003(9) 6,989,000 6.1 
		
	
	(7) Pupils aged 5 to 15 on 31 August of the previous year.
	(8) The number of pupils in independent schools expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils in all schools.
	(9) Provisional numbers, based upon returns made to the Department by the end of March 2003. Number of pupils rounded to the nearest thousand.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

Literacy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what examples of best practice from other countries in Europe he plans to introduce to enhance Government plans to encourage literacy throughout the UK.

David Miliband: The international 'Progress in Reading Literacy Study' (PIRLS), showed that our primary school pupils were the third most able readers in the world, and that England was the most successful English speaking country. This demonstrates the international success of our National Literacy Strategy which has led to dramatic improvements since its introduction in 1998. The number of 11-year-olds achieving the expected level for their age (Level 4) in English rose by 10 percentage points between 1998 and 2002.
	The National Literacy Strategy has from its inception benefited from international research such as PIRLS to support teachers. Important elements of its guidance to teachers, including Progression in Phonics, Grammar for Writing and Developing Early Writing, have drawn on experience in other countries. We will, of course, continue to refine the Strategy to ensure that it reflects international best practice and research evidence, so that all children fulfil their potential. We will shortly be publishing a strategy document on primary education, which will set out how we intend to build on the success of the NLS.

Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list teacher supply agencies with his Department's quality mark status, broken down by year of accreditation.

David Miliband: The following agencies have been awarded the Quality Mark, which is administered by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation:
	2002:
	Protocol Teachers
	Standby Teacher Services
	Capita Education Resourcing
	Supply Desk
	Celsian Group
	Academy
	Select Education
	ITN Teachers
	Quay Education Services
	Teach London
	Louis Paul Recruitment
	GB Recruitment
	Teachers Workline
	Link Education
	TimePlan 2003:
	Supplynet Recruitment
	Kelly Educational Staffing
	GSL Education
	Reed Education Professionals
	Focus Education
	Dream Education
	SOS Education Services

Teachers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many supply teachers were employed in each year since 1997; and what proportion of those who had qualified teacher status, broken down by local education authority.

David Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Teachers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers there were per head of population in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West of England in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent regular teachers (excluding occasionals) in service in January of each year in the maintained schools sector per thousand of population of all ages.
	
		
			Teachers per thousand of population 
			  Lancashire(10) North West 
		
		
			 1997 8.4 8.8 
			 1998 8.4 8.8 
			 1999 8.6 8.9 
			 2000 8.6 8.9 
			 2001 8.6 9.0 
			 2002(11),(12) 8.4 8.9 
		
	
	(10) The figures shown for 1997 and 1998 are based on the boundaries prior to local government reorganisation in April 1998.
	(11) The most recent teacher data available at regional or LEA level are for 2002.
	(12) The population figures used as denominators for 1997 to 2001 are revised mid-year estimates that take account of the 2001 Census. Population estimates for 2002 are not yet available, the percentages for that year are therefore based on projections for mid-2002 (which were prepared before the results of the 2001 Census were known).

Teachers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to protect the employment of newly recruited teachers against the consequences of the financial difficulties of the schools which employ them.

David Miliband: It is for schools, as employers, to determine their appropriate staffing levels in line with their budgets.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Ancient Monuments (Maintenance)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will increase the financial assistance to local authorities responsible for ancient monuments; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Funding settlements for local authorities are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has no plans to provide additional grants to local authorities responsible for ancient monuments. However, English Heritage offers grants for the repair and conservation of historic buildings, monuments, areas and historic parks and gardens. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) distributes money raised by the national Lottery to support all aspects of heritage in the UK, from historic buildings and museums to archives, nature conservation and oral history. The HLF provides both capital grants (for buildings and equipment) and time-limited activity grants. Further information is available from both organisations.

Ancient Monuments (Maintenance)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers she has to require local authorities to maintain ancient monuments; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State does not have powers to require local authorities to maintain ancient monuments. Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister makes clear that detailed development plans (i.e. local and unitary development plans) should include policies for the protection, enhancement and preservation of sites of archaeological interest and of their settings.

Ancient Monuments (Maintenance)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy to provide grants to local authorities specifically to assist in the maintenance of Roman town walls.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to provide grants to local authorities specifically to assist in the maintenance of town walls. However, English Heritage offers grants for the repair and conservation of historic buildings, monuments, areas and historic parks and gardens. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) distributes money raised by the national Lottery to support all aspects of heritage in the UK, from historic buildings and museums to archives, nature conservation and oral history. The HLF provides both capital grants (for buildings and equipment) and time-limited activity grants. Further information is available from both organisations.

Ancient Monuments (Maintenance)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will require local authorities with Roman town walls to provide her with (a) an audit of their condition, (b) a statement of works required to repair them and (c) an estimate of the cost of repairs.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to require local authorities to provide her with this information. In the case of scheduled ancient monuments, this is a matter for discussion with English Heritage.

Departmental Report

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost was of the publication of the 2001 Departmental Report.

Kim Howells: The cost of publishing the 2001 Annual Report was as follows:
	
		
			 Year 2001 
		
		
			 Design, typesetting, pdfs etc. 56,105 
			 Print(13) 24,774 
			 Proof reading 570 
			 Total 81,449 
		
	
	(13) Buy back of copies from The Stationery Office

Document Classification

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many documents are held by her Department that are subject to security classification, broken down by category of classification.

Kim Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 7 May 2003, Official Report, column 696W by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Douglas Alexander).

Inclusive Design

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to develop and promote the business case for inclusive design;
	(2)  what discussions her Department has had with manufacturers of digital radios on improving the accessibility of this equipment for visually impaired people;
	(3)  what steps her Department has taken (a) to publicise good practice in inclusive design and (b) provide data, guidelines and case studies relating to inclusive design to those involved in the design and production of (i) digital television products, (ii) digital radio products and (iii) telecommunications products;
	(4)  whether her Department has produced a policy statement on inclusive design in relation to consumer equipment in the (a) telecommunications and (b) broadcasting sectors; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Digital Television Action Plan includes actions to ensure that digital television equipment and services are widely accessible. In 2001, the Government appointed CRSP, Loughborough University, to scope the human aspects of adopting digital television, including the needs of disabled people. The report was published in March 2002 and the recommendations fed into the Action Plan. The Action Plan's Technology and Equipment Group (comprising manufacturers, broadcasters, software/application providers and consumer groups) has an ongoing action to analyse the needs of disabled people and made reference to the issue in its first report. Copies of the reports are available on www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk.
	The Government recently appointed the Generics Group to undertake research on how consumers engage with and use digital television and this will consider individuals with special needs. We anticipate a report in July 2003.
	DCMS is working with the RNIB on a business plan for production of an audio description module. The Department of Trade and Industry's innovation programmes, in particular its Digital Testbed and LINK Broadcast Technology programmes, have explored using digital technologies to benefit elderly and disabled people. This includes work on automatic subtitling and an interface for portable digital radios.
	The Government continue to support and participate in work by relevant expert and advisory groups at European level to improve the availability and range of communications equipment available which is suitable or adapted for use by persons with disabilities. This includes the work programme being carried forward by a group called INCOM, which has a specific focus on inclusive communications.

Iraq

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what help and advice she is offering to the authorities in Iraq to help secure the return of looted antiquities.

Tessa Jowell: We are working closely with UNESCO and the British Museum to develop a co-ordinated response to Iraq's needs from the archaeological and museum world. On 29 April I attended a seminar of world experts at the British Museum. We aim to support members of the international museum and archaeological communities in their efforts to assist the Iraqis in identifying and recovering antiquities looted from museums and sites. Within the next few weeks we will be sending an advance team of administrators and archaeological professionals to join the US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Aid (ORHA) in Iraq. Working with Iraqi colleagues they will be able to reach rapid conclusions about the extent of the damage to Iraqi museums and sites and to begin the process of making an inventory of missing objects.

Millennium Commission

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to wind up the Millennium Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Millennium Commission's grant's programmes are planned to be completed by 31 March 2006. Its future is being considered as part of the on-going Lottery review.

Olympic Bid

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to make an announcement about a bid for the UK to host the Olympic Games in 2012.

Tessa Jowell: The Government will decide whether to support a bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in sufficient time to meet the IOC deadline of 15 July 2003.
	In the meantime the Government, together with other key stakeholders, continues to carry out the necessary preparatory work so that, if a bid is made, its quality and potential winnability are maximised.

Specialist Playgrounds

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many specialist playgrounds there are that cater for disabled children; what assistance is available for disabled children who wish to take on a sport professionally; how much has been invested in disabled persons' sports since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: DCMS does not hold information on the specific numbers of playgrounds that cater for disabled children. The Department launched a Children's Play Review in October 2002, which includes research into provision for disabled children. Elite disabled sport is supported by the UK Sport World Class programme, which has been given 4.6 million in exchequer funding since 1997. In addition to this, the DCMS also funds grassroots disability sport through Sport England, which from 19982003 allocated 4,240,056 to the English Federation for Disability Sport. The EFDS works to improve opportunities to participate in sport for all people with disabilities.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Autism

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to create a residential facility for young people suffering from autistic spectrum disorders in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: Plans are currently being developed for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Autism at the former St. Joseph's Training School at Middletown, Co. Armagh. This is an initiative between the Department of Education and the Department of Education and Science and the aim of the Centre is to promote excellence in the education of children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders throughout Ireland.
	The developing aims of the Centre include an Individual Learning Centre, which will provide an exemplar of good practice in assessment and educational intervention, training of parents and professionals, a research facility and a teaching and outreach support service. The Centre will complement and support, rather than replace, current and developing service provision. The Centre will offer residential accommodation for up to twenty children and young people who would attend the Learning Centre for short-term support.
	The progress of the development is subject to the successful completion of purchase arrangements of the site.

Award Schemes

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office did not promote any award schemes in 2001 and 2002. But it was involved in sponsoring NIHE Community Safety Awards.
	The core Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration promoted the following award schemes in 2001 and 2002:
	
		
			 Award scheme title Scope Results due date Simultaneous notification 
		
		
			 Awards in 2001   
			 The Cash Grant Awards Scheme To enable individuals or groups to carry out practical projects which will result in better care for health and social services users April/May 2001 Yes 
			 Diversity 21 Awards To recognise and celebrate the diverse interests and cultures in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the 21st century 29 May 2001 Yes 
			 Northern Ireland Exporter of the Year Awards 2000 Encouraging NI companies to export June 2001 Yes 
			 DARD Rose Award Best cluster of flowered rose at Belfast City Rose Trials July 2001 Yes 
			 National Training Awards The National Training Awards competition is open to all individuals, companies and organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors 15 September 2001to 13 November 2001 No 
			 The HPSS Quality Awards To recognise, reward and promote excellence in the provision of health and social care within the Health and Personal Social Services November 2001 Yes 
			 Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Environmental Awards Scheme Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland November 2001 Yes 
			 Beacon Awards The Association of Colleges in England and Wales administers the Beacon Awards programme. Beacon Awards are also open to Northern Ireland Further Education (FE) colleges. The awards are designed to promote the interdependence of FE colleges and business, professional and voluntary organisations to their mutual advantage December 2001 Yes 
			 Food From Britain Export Awards: Northern Irish Exporter of the Year To celebrate the success of companies operating in international markets December 2001 Yes 
			 NI Quality Award Public, private and voluntary sector organisations January 2002 No 
			 Steps to Excellence Public and voluntary sector organisations January 2002 No 
			 NI Quality Award Public, private and voluntary sector organisations January 2002 No 
			 Steps to Excellence Public and voluntary sector organisations January 2002 No 
			 All Ireland Garden Centre of the Year Awards Best Garden Centre February 2002 Yes 
			 Best Developing Garden Centre Awards Most Improved Garden Centre February 2002 Yes 
			 
			 Awards in 2002   
			 The Cash Grants Awards Scheme To enable individuals or groups to carry out practical projects which will result in better care for health and social services users April/May 2002 Yes 
			 Diversity 21 Awards To recognise and celebrate the diverse interests and cultures in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the 21st century 11 June 2002 Yes 
			 DARD Rose Award Best cluster of flowered rose at Belfast City Rose Trials July 2002 Yes 
			 National Training Awards The National Training Awards competition is open to all individuals, companies and organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors 13 September 2002to 5 November 2002 No 
			 Development Farmer of the Year Significant Development in grass-based enterprises and establishment of a viable diversified enterprise September 2002 Yes 
			 Northern Ireland Food and Drinks Awards: Supply Chain Excellence Award To recognise the creation or improvement of supply chain linkages that deliver clear benefits to producers October 2002 Yes 
			 Public Authorities Awards Best in category October 2002 Yes 
			 Landscape Maintenance Awards Best in category October 2002 Yes 
			 The HPSS Quality Awards To recognise, reward and promote excellence in the provision of health and social care within the Health and Personal Social Services November 2002 Yes 
			 Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Environmental Awards Scheme Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland November 2002 Yes 
			 Beacon Awards The Association of Colleges in England and Wales administers the Beacon Awards programme. Beacon Awards are also open to Northern Ireland further Education colleges. The awards are designed to promote the interdependence of FE colleges and business, professional and voluntary organisations to their mutual advantage December 2002 Yes 
			 Food From Britain Export Awards: Northern Irish Exporter of the Year To celebrate the success of companies operating in international markets December 2002 Yes 
			 All Ireland Garden Centre of the Year Awards Best Garden Centre January 2003 Yes 
			 Best Developing Garden Centre Awards Most Improved Garden Centre January 2003 Yes 
			 NI Quality Award Public, private and voluntary sector organisations January 2003 No 
			 Steps to Excellence Public and voluntary sector organisations January 2003 No 
			 NI Quality Award Public, private and voluntary sector organisations January 2003 No 
			 Steps to Excellence Public and voluntary sector organisations January 2003 No 
			 Northern Ireland Business Education Awards To recognise and encourage the promotion of business education activities and links 12 March 2003 Yes

Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to publish the draft Belfast metropolitan area plan; and what the reasons are for the further delay in publication.

Angela Smith: The Development Plan Programme set out in Planning Service's Corporate and Business Plan 200203 indicated that the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan (BMAP)Draft Plan would be published before the end of the 200203 financial year.
	A number of important research studies being carried out by, or on behalf of, the Plan Team, required ward level data from the 2001 Census. As this data was not published until 19 December 2002, I agreed a revised timetable with members of the Political Group, representative of the six Councils in the Belfast Metropolitan area, which oversees the process and which I Chair. This revised timetable allowed for completion of the research, and indicated that the Draft Plan would be published in September 2003.
	A number of factors outside the control of the Plan Team now mean that it will not be possible to meet that timescale.
	Following an initial round of consultation meetings between the BMAP Team and the Councils within the Plan area, a number of Councils have written requesting an extension to the consultation timeframe. I have agreed to this request.
	The amended consultation timeframe, together with the fact that a number of inputs to the BMAP process from other bodies will not be available until May/June, will result in the final Council consultation being delayed until late summer. While this delay is unavoidable, it is essential that the new timetable is strictly adhered to, in order that the plan process remains within an appropriate timeframe.
	I have written to members of the Political Group to advise them of the amendments in the consultation timetable. The full implications of the timescale for the remainder of the BMAP process will be considered at the next meeting of the BMAP Political Group. I will write to you further to advise you of the outcome of that meeting.

Chilcott Report

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the findings of the Chilcott report into the break-in at Castlereagh police station on 17 March 2002.

Paul Murphy: I will inform the House when I have received the report into the break-in at the Castlereagh police station from Sir John Chilcot.

Columba Initiative

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Columba Initiative was established; what was the Northern Ireland contribution in each financial year; and by which Department that money was contributed.

Angela Smith: The Columba Initiative was established in 1997. Northern Ireland joined in April 1998.
	The Northern Ireland contribution in each financial year has been as follows:
	
		
			  Department of Finance and Personnel (s) 
		
		
			 199899 Department of Finance and Personnel 48,892 
			 19992000 Department of Finance and Personnel 63,607 
			 200001200001 Department of Finance and PersonnelDepartment of Culture, Arts and Leisure 25,00042,500 
			 200102 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 150,000 
			 200203 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 165,000

Community Relations

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the principal initiatives were of the former Central Community Relations Unit, to fulfil its objective of encouraging greater mutual understanding in Northern Ireland and greater respect for cultural diversity.

Des Browne: The former Central Community Relations Unit (CCRU) had a large and diverse community relations programme aimed at promoting greater cross-community contact between the main sections of the Northern Ireland community and increasing mutual understanding and respect for cultural diversity.
	This programme included support for the Northern Ireland community relations council to fulfil its strategic aim by providing support for local groups and organisations, developing opportunities for cross community understanding and increasing public awareness of community relations work.
	Support was provided for the district community relations programme to fulfil its aims to develop cross community contact and co-operation, promote greater mutual understandingand increase respect for cultural traditions.

Disability Discrimination Act

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to bring forward primary legislation to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and revise the definition of disability in line with the recommendations of the Disability Rights Task Force.

Des Browne: The Northern Ireland Executive consulted on three of the Disability Rights Task Force's recommendations on the definition of disability in Improving Civil Rights for Disabled People in September 2001.
	The majority of respondents to that consultation supported the recommendations on the definition: recognising HIV as a disability from the point at which it is diagnosed; recognising cancer (provided it is symptomatic) from the point of diagnosis as being a condition that is likely to require substantial treatment; and making it easier for people who are blind or partially sighted to be recognised as having a disability within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act.
	The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) will also be making recommendations to Government following their recent review of the Disability Discrimination Act in Northern Ireland. These may include further recommendations on the definition of disability.
	Any new recommendations from ECNI, will be considered and where agreed, will be taken forward in primary legislation with those Task Force recommendations already consulted on, in the context of the single Equality Bill. Consultation on proposals for the Bill will take place in the Autumn.

Disability Discrimination Act

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which government department in Northern Ireland will be responsible for preparing proposals to remove the transport exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and when the consultation process will begin.

Angela Smith: The Department for Transport consulted on 29 November 2002 on the proposal to remove the exemption for transport services in Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in relation to GB. Once the outcome of this consultation is known it will be for the Department of the Environment and the Department for Regional Development to consider the implications for Northern Ireland and decide what action is appropriate. Any proposed action will be subject to public consultation in Northern Ireland but it is not yet possible to give a timescale for this.

Disability Rights Task Force

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the reasons were for the delay in producing a strategy to implement the recommendations of the Disability Rights Task Force in Northern Ireland; and when the strategy will be published.

Des Browne: The former Northern Ireland Executive agreed the Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) priorities and the Terms of Reference and membership for the Working Group which was tasked with developing the strategy on 31 May 2002. The Group met for the first time on 2 July 2002.
	The original Programme for Government target for the strategy was December 2002. Work on the draft strategy requires close cross-departmental input and agreement on how best to implement the actions flowing from the Executive's response to the Disability Rights Task Force recommendations. Active consideration of other non-legislative issues relating to access to information, services and equipment by people with disabilities has been carried out. This has been a particularly important aspect of the work as it links in with work on the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD) 2003 which is of high priority and will raise public awareness of issues affecting people with disabilities.
	It is currently planned to publish the strategy in summer 2003. However, the delay in publishing the strategy has not resulted in delay in progressing the actions to be included within it. Many of the legislative recommendations for example are currently the subject of consultation in draft Regulations.

Disability Rights Task Force

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason the PSI working group developing the strategy to implement the recommendation of the Disability Rights Task Force in Northern Ireland contains no representatives of disability groups.

Des Browne: The Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) Disability interdepartmental Working Group was established primarily to develop a strategy to implement the former NI Executive's response to the Disability Rights Task Force recommendations. Membership of the Working Group was agreed by former Ministers and comprises those who are responsible for implementing the recommendations. The consultation exercise on the Executive's response, which ended on 31 December 2001 included representatives from organisations representing the disability sector.
	The Group's remit also includes wider issues raised during the consultation process such as barriers to the provision of services and equipment for people with disabilities and taking forward this part of the strategy has involved representatives of disability groups. A focus group meeting was convened (last September) comprising representatives from those groups who had responded to the questions on barriers to services and equipment in the consultation exercise. Full and active consideration of those views is on-going as part of the Working Group's deliberations on the strategy.

Foundation Hospitals

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce foundation hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Des Browne: There are no plans at present to introduce NHS Foundation Hospitals in Northern Ireland.

District Policing

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many ex-RUC officers applied to become members of District Policing Partnerships; how many were shortlisted; how many were deemed appointable onto the District Policing Partnerships; and how many were appointed to District Policing Partnerships.

Jane Kennedy: According to Policing Board records, 10 former police officers applied to become members of District Policing Partnerships. Of those, nine were shortlisted, and two were appointed.

District Policing

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will instigate a review of appointments to District Policing Boards to ensure that appointments are made on personal merit; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: There are no plans to review the appointment of independent members to District Policing Partnerships.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, published a Code of Practice in August 2000, after extensive consultation, on the appointment of independent members of DPPs. The process adopted by the Policing Board was in line with the guidelines issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, and had been considered by the Equality Commission.

District Policing

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown by party affiliation is of those councillors chosen to serve as members of District Policing Partnerships.

Jane Kennedy: The following table details the breakdown of the political affiliations of the councillors chosen to serve as political members of the 26 District Policing Partnerships.
	
		
			 Political affiliation Total 
		
		
			 Alliance Party 9 
			 DUP 69 
			 Independent 12 
			 Independent Unionist Party 1 
			 PUP 1 
			 UK Unionist Party 1 
			 UUP 80 
			 SDLP 68

EU Water Directives

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on infraction proceedings against the Government arising from Northern Ireland's failure to comply with EU directives on drinking and waste water.

Angela Smith: With regard to drinking water, I can confirm my officials are currently responding to a case taken against the UK in February 2002 for failure to comply with the Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC). With regard to waste water, I can confirm that my officials are currently responding to a number of cases on implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Directive 91/271/EEC) which have been raised with the UK by the European Commission and in which there are particular implications for Northern Ireland.

Multiple Sclerosis

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 532W, on multiple sclerosis, how many patients in Northern Ireland have commenced (a) beta interferon products and (b) glatiramer to treat multiple sclerosis since 1 January.

Des Browne: No additional patients have commenced treatment with these specialist medicines since 1 January 2003 because recruitment of the necessary specialist staff, as explained in the answer referred to, has not yet been completed. Interviews have now taken place for extra nursing staff, who are expected to be in post no later than June 2003 and regional joint medical/nursing clinics are in the process of being set up.

Murders

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the murders committed in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years have been attributed to (a) loyalist paramilitary organisations and (b) republican paramilitary organisations.

Jane Kennedy: The table provides details of the number of murders committed by Loyalists and Republicans since 1992.
	
		Number of murders as a result of the security situation
		
			 Year By Loyalist By Republican 
		
		
			 199293 38 33 
			 199394 38 27 
			 199495 32 22 
			 199596 3 9 
			 199697 6 7 
			 199798 22 9 
			 199899 10 33 
			 19992000 4 3 
			 200001 14 4 
			 200102 10 5 
			 200203 11 4 
			 Total 188 156 
		
	
	Note:
	200203 statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment. Finalised figures will not be available until the end of June 2003

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the Non-Departmental Public Bodies in Northern Ireland; how many people are appointed to each; and who those serving on each are.

Paul Murphy: A listing of non-departmental public bodies in Northern Ireland can be found in the Cabinet Office's publication Public Bodies 2002. Details of appointees and the individuals serving on bodies sponsored by NI Departments are available from the Public Appointments Annual Report 2001/2002 Volumes 1  2, and for bodies sponsored by the Northern Ireland Office in its 2002 Departmental ReportExpenditure Plans and Priorities published in June 2002.
	Copies of all three documents are available from the Library of the House and can also be viewed at the following websites:
	Public Bodies 2002:
	www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/quango/2002/publicbodies.pdf
	Public Appointments Annual Report:
	www.ofmdftnni.gov.uk/publicappointments
	NIO's 2002 Departmental Report
	www.nio.gov.uk/pdf/niodep. pdf

North-South Bodies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed in servicing (a) the Civic Forum, (b) the North-South Ministerial Council, (c) North-South Implementation Bodies and (d) British Irish Council.

Des Browne: The information is as follows. (a) Civic Forum
	Funding for the Civic Forum ceased during suspension. As a result staff in the Civic Forum Secretariat have been redeployed on other duties.
	(b) North-South Ministerial Council
	The North-South Ministerial Council cannot meet during suspension. The 25.5 whole time equivalent staff employed in the Joint Secretariat are currently engaged in providing administrative support associated with the care and maintenance of the North/South Implementation Bodies and a range of other duties.
	(c) North-South Implementation Bodies
	At the latest date for which staffing figures are available, there are 486.6 whole-time equivalent staff employed in the North-South Implementation Bodies.
	(d) British-Irish Council
	The British and Irish Governments provide the Secretariat for the British-Irish Council in co-ordination with officials from each of the other members. In addition to servicing the work of the Council, the officials are involved in carrying out a range of other duties. It is therefore not possible to identify detailed staff numbers in respect of those functions which relate to the Secretariat.

North-South Bodies

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the status is of the North-South Implementation Bodies following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Paul Murphy: The Implementation Bodies were established under the Implementation Bodies Agreement of 9 March 1999 made between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland. That Agreement also conferred functions on the Bodies. The Agreement was incorporated into the domestic law of Northern Ireland by the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (NI) Order 1999. Following suspension it is the intention of the British and Irish Governments that the Bodies should be able to continue to perform their essential functions.

Nurse Recruitment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nurses have been recruited in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: Figures are provided in the following tables.
	
		Non-bank nurses(14) who have been recruited to work in trusts in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997  -- (headcount figures given only)
		
			 Trust 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			  
			  
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 26 44 41 18 48 59 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 5 11 10 10 14 25 
			 Southern Board HQ 0 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 144 114 195 225 141 312 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 30 165 81 115 144 191 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 47 75 54 58 34 77 
			 Blood Transfusion Service 1 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 96 86 72 80 81 63 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 22 23 35 28 34 22 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 20 37 98 82 46 110 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 81 71 150 189 248 333 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 39 62 59 57 105 102 
			 Regional Medical Physics Agency 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 40 26 46 42 60 36 
			 Royal Hospitals 160 191 253 281 289 341 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 74 111 71 39 63 92 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 25 19 22 16 51 30 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 26 27 18 30 38 47 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 84 61 85 66 72 84 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 13 24 36 21 48 85 
			 United Hospitals HSS Trust 107 103 93 120 74 82 
			 Total 1,040 1,250 1,420 1,478 1,591 2,094 
		
	
	(14) Bank nurses have been excluded from these figuresthey cover for staffing shortfalls and fluctuating workloads in order to maintain service delivery
	
		Bank nurses who have been recruited to work in trusts in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997 -- (headcount figures given only)
		
			 Trust 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 1 19 0 5 3 9 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 2 5 3 8 7 14 
			 Southern Board HQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust (15) (15) (15) (15) (15) (15) 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 1 20 16 7 37 41 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 26 37 35 22 33 26 
			 Blood Transfusion Service 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 26 31 35 45 23 21 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 11 11 7 9 8 8 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 6 8 17 34 17 38 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 20 10 32 32 29 29 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 33 23 22 32 55 39 
			 Regional Medical Physics Agency n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 27 53 45 24 14 27 
			 Royal Hospitals 12 3 32 31 19 22 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 14 12 21 9 14 9 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 4 13 3 7 15 18 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 0 0 0 0 14 72 
		
	
	n/a = Not applicable
	(15) Unable to provide

Nursing Care

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in nursing homes have been assessed for contributions towards their nursing care since October 2002.

Des Browne: Monitoring of assessments carried out by Health and Social Services Trusts indicates that, since October 2002, approximately 1,400 people in nursing homes have been assessed for contributions towards the costs of their nursing care.

Nursing Care

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average amount of money per week awarded to those who have been assessed for contributions towards nursing care has been since October 2002.

Des Browne: Since October 2002 nursing home residents who have been assessed as eligible to receive payments for nursing care have benefited from a Health and Personal Social Services contribution of 100 per week towards the cost of their nursing care.

Nursing Care

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average period of time has been from an assessment for nursing care contributions taking place until receipt of the first payment by the patient.

Des Browne: The average period of time from an assessment for nursing care payments taking place until payment is received by the patient's nursing home is four weeks.

Nursing Care

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time spent with a patient by medical staff has been when carrying out an assessment for a contribution to nursing care.

Des Browne: A nursing needs assessment is completed by a nurse. If any other needs are identified the appropriate professional will be asked to contribute to the assessment. Clients who agree to a nursing needs assessment undergo a specific assessment process using the agreed needs assessment tool. The average time spent by nursing needs assessors with a patient undergoing the assessment is 90 minutes. The assessment times can increase or decrease depending on the clients health and ability to participate, the information within nursing and medical notes, the representative/carers input to the assessment and the nursing home staffs evaluation of a clients needs. Further information may also be necessary in order to reach a decision.

Planning Appeals

John Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals the Government have to introduce the right of third party appeals in the planning process in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: There is no proposal, at present, to introduce third party appeals to the Northern Ireland planning process. When the Draft Planning (Amendment) (NI) Order 2003 was being considered by the House of Commons I indicated that I was commissioning a Regulatory Impact Assessment of the impact which third party appeals would have, if introduced. When complete, this will be published as part of a full consultation paper. Any decision to introduce third-party appeals in advance of that consultation would be premature.

Police Service

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future awarding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary long service medal to members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve.

Jane Kennedy: The Royal Warrant for the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal is in the process of being revised to allow service in the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve to be aggregated with previous service in the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve for the purpose of eligibility for the award of the Medal.

Police Service

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the successful applicants in the recent competition for clerical posts with the Police Service of Northern Ireland were (a) Roman Catholic and (b) others; and how many of these successful applicants have been offered a post.

Jane Kennedy: In the latest competition for administrative assistants in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which took place in May 2002, 264 candidates were found suitable for inclusion in the merit pool. Of these, 26 were classified as having a Roman Catholic community background, and 238 as having a non-Roman Catholic background. 52 were, therefore, appointable under current legislation, all of whom will be offered a post.

Police Service

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his policy that past terrorist atrocities which have not resulted in charges or convictions should not be investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: No. Whether a criminal investigation is reopened by the PSNI is a matter for the Chief Constable. When there are calls for public inquiries into past incidents, the Government have to decide on a case by case basis the most appropriate course of action. In doing so the Government's priority is that those responsible should be convicted and that the whole truth should emerge. In many cases I believe that criminal investigations represent the best way of achieving this.

Police Service

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  whether serving officers in the Garda Siochana will be subject to the 50:50 Catholic: non-Catholic recruitment quotas if they apply to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland under the proposed arrangements;
	(2)  whether serving officers in police forces in Great Britain are subject to the 50:50 Catholic: non-Catholic recruitment quotas if they apply to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: The 50:50 recruitment arrangements apply only to police trainees. They do not apply to lateral entry at ranks above constable. Serving police officers in both the Garda Siochana and police services in Great Britain are therefore subject to the 50:50 arrangements if they apply to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland as police trainees. The proposed new arrangements provided for by clause 19 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill, to enable fixed term appointments of up to three years to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, will apply only to the ranks of sergeant to Chief Superintendent. The 50:50 recruitment arrangements will therefore not apply to appointments under this scheme.

Police Service

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons who at the time of their application were serving as police officers in forces in Great Britain have applied to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and of these, how many have been appointed.

Jane Kennedy: Numbers of applicants and appointees to the Police Service of Northern Ireland who were formerly serving officers in GB are as follows:
	
		
			 PSNI post/rank applied for Number of applicants from GB police forces Number of appointees from GB police forces 
		
		
			 Trainee constable (16)Not known 17 
			 Sergeant 15 7 
			 Inspector 6 4 
			 Chief Inspector 10 1 
			 Assistant Chief Constable 1 0 
			 Deputy Chief Constable 3 (17)1 
			 Chief Constable 2 1 
		
	
	(16) It is not possible to determine the numbers of serving officers from GB forces who have applied for trainee posts in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
	(17) Appointment announced, to commence at the beginning of April 2003.

Police Service

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons classified as (a) male Catholic, (b) male non-Catholic, (c) female Catholic and (d) female non-Catholic were admitted to, and graduated from, each training course run by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to date; and what the maximum number of recruits was that could be accommodated on each of these courses.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is set out in the table. The maximum number of recruits that could be accommodated in the PSNI college is 48 and 60 alternating every 5 weeks, to a maximum of 540 students per year.
	
		
			PSNI intakes   PSNI graduates 
			  Non RC RC Non RC RC 
			 Intake date M F M F M F M F 
		
		
			 4 November 2001 17 6 16 8 17 6 14 8 
			 9 December 2001 23 6 15 15 23 6 15 14 
			 20 January 2002 14 10 20 4 14 10 19 4 
			 24 February 2002 17 13 19 10 17 12 19 10 
			 31 March 2002 15 9 13 10 15 9 13 10 
			 5 May 2002 14 2 11 9 13 2 10 9 
			 9 June 2002 11 14 18 8 11 14 18 8 
			 14 July 2002 15 5 19 2 15 5 19 2 
			 18 August 2002 11 18 22 6 11 17 22 5 
			 22 September 2002 13 3 13 5 Still in training
			 27 October 2002 22 6 22 5 Still in training
			 1 December 2002 14 6 20 7 Still in training   
			 12 January 2003 15 4 8 5 Still in training
			 16 February 2003 12 3 15 1 Still in training

Post Mortems

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason hospital pathologists in the Royal and the City hospitals are empowered to undertake coroners post mortems.

Des Browne: Article 11 of the Criminal Justice (NI) order 1980 empowers the Secretary of State to approve a list of registered medical practitioners for the performance of Coroner's post mortem examinations. The list is compiled by the Secretary of State on the advice of the State Pathologist.
	The current list is made up from forensic pathologists on the staff of the State Pathologist's Dept and named hospital pathologists attached to the Royal Victoria Hospital or the Belfast City Hospital. SPD staff will be engaged to conduct the majority of coroner's cases, especially post mortem examinations involving deaths, which might result in serious criminal charges being prepared, or where medical negligence or neglect has been alleged.
	Hospital pathologists currently conduct coroner's cases when the death of a patient has occurred in one of the Belfast teaching hospitals (Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast City Hospital, Mater Hospital and Ulster Hospital). In some circumstances eg paediatric deaths, autopsies are carried out jointly between a member of the State Pathologist's Department and a paediatric pathologist, while in others, specialist advice such as neuropathology, may be sought by the State Pathologist.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the expected saving to future funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office do not as yet have any Private Finance Initiative schemes in operation. The information for the Northern Ireland Administration is as follows:
	The Classroom 2000 (C2K) project to provide information and communication technology infrastructure needed in schools in Northern Ireland shows a Net Present Value saving against the Public Sector Comparator (PSC) of 12 million, representing 7 per cent. of the PSC; and
	the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency's Vehicle Testing project to equip vehicle testing centres throughout Northern Ireland with the latest computerised vehicle testing technology fully meeting EU testing obligations has a Net Present Value saving against the Public Sector Comparator (PSC) of 6 million, representing 16 per cent. of the PSC.

Public Relations Consultants

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on public relations consultants in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office has not used the services of Public Relations consultants.
	Within the Northern Ireland administration the cost of public relations consultants in each year since 1997 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 199798 897,537 
			 199899 1,110,559 
			 19992000 1,311,243 
			 200001 1,270,102 
			 200102 1,013,129 
			 200203 556,370 
		
	
	One department was unable to provide figures in relation to the cost of public relations consultants.
	These figures do not include Agencies and NDPBs.

Regional Planning (Enforcement)

John Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times enforcement action has been taken by the (a) regional planning offices and (b) the sub offices in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years.

Angela Smith: The Planning Service has a number of options to seek to remedy a breach of planning control. The Planning Service normally seeks to remedy the breach initially through negotiation of remedial works, such as the removal of the unauthorised structure. This approach successfully resolves a high proportion of enforcement cases. If this approach is unsuccessful, the Department will consider formal enforcement action.
	Although statistical records maintained by the Planning Service have historically taken account of enforcement procedures, it is only since 1999 that separate data specifically relating to enforcement action has been recorded. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of enforcement statistics by division. Presented in the table are the total number of enforcement cases for each year since 1999. These figures appear in the Agency Annual Report and Accounts for the years 19992002. Figures for the present year are not yet available.
	
		
			  Cases investigated Cases resolved Enforcement Notices issued Stop Notices issued 
		
		
			 200102 3,800 1,634 50 4 
			 200001 3,500 1,422 54 3 
			 19992000 2,678 1,167 82 2 
		
	
	A review of the current system, to allow information to be readily collated on a divisional and sub-divisional basis, will be undertaken as part of Modernising Planning Processes.

Road Accidents

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been (a) injured and (b) killed in road traffic accidents in Northern Ireland since 1 January.

Angela Smith: The collection of road traffic data is the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Full details for the year to date are not yet available but PSNI has provided provisional figures and these are set out in the table.
	
		
			 Period Number of deaths/fatalities(18)  
		
		
			 1 January14 April 2003 50 killed 
			 1 January28 February 2003 35 killed 
			 1 January28 February 2003 225 serious injuries 
			 1 January28 February 2003 1,420 slight injuries 
		
	
	(18) provisional figures

School Closures

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by (a) name, (b) location and (c) education and library board area those schools that have been closed in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: A total of eight primary, one special and one post-primary schools have closed in the past five years. These schools are:
	
		
			 Education andlibrary boardarea School and location Date of closure 
		
		
			 BELB Jaffe Special School, Belfast 23 June 2001 
			  St. Anthony's PS, Willowfield, Belfast 31 August 2001 
			 NEELB Dunamuggy PS, Templepatrick 31 August 1999 
			  Millbrook PS, Larne 31 August 2000 
			  Mosside PS, Ballymoney 31 August 2002 
			 SEELB O'Neill Memorial PS, Crossnacreevy,Belfast 31 August 2002 
			 SELB Star of the Sea PS, Kilkeel 31 August 1998 
			 WELB Cavanacaw PS, Omagh 31 August 2001 
			  Glengorland PS, Donemana, Strabane 31 August 2001 
			  Dungiven HS 31 August 2002 
		
	
	In addition, in this five year period a number of schools have received approval to amalgamate, namely:
	
		
			 Education andlibrary board area Schools Approval given 
		
		
			 BELB Fernhill PS and Glencairn PS, Belfast 1998 
			  St. Comgall's PS and St. Joseph's PS, Belfast 1999 
			  St. Paul's PS and St. Mary's PS, Belfast 2000 
			  Holy Trinity Boys PS and Holy Trinity PS 2000 
			  St. Catherine's PS, St. Gall's PS and St. John's PS 2000 
			 NEELB Antrim HS and Ardnaveigh HS 1998 
			  Coleraine Boys HS and Coleraine Girls HS 2000 
			  Cambridge House Boys Grammar and Cambridge House Girls Grammar, Ballymena 2001 
			 SEELB Maze PS Lisburn, St. James PS 2000 
			  Hillsborough and St. Johns PS, Hillsborough 2001 
			  Clough PS, Downpatrick and Downshire PS, Dundrum 2001 
			  St. Mary's Boys PS and St. Mary's Girls PS, Newcastle 2002 
			  Hillsborough PS and Newport PS, Hillsborough  
			 SELB Lurgan Cahone PS, Rathfriland and St. Colman's PS, Glassdrummond 1998 
			  St. Clare's Convent PS and St. Mary's PS, Keady 1998 
			  St. Clare's PS and St. Colman's Abbey PS, Newry 1999 
			  Our Lady's PS and St. Mochuas PS, Keady 2000 
			  Ballygawley PS and Innismagh PS, Ballygawley 2001 
			  St. Josephs Infants PS, St. Peter's Boys PS and Sacred Heart PS, Lurgan 2001 
			 WELB St. Patrick's Broys HS and St. Patrick's Girls HS, Dungannon 1998 
			  St. Michaels PS and St. Theresa PS, Enniskillen 2001 
			  Bready PS and Sandville PS, Strabane 2002

Secondments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been seconded to his Department from the private sector, in each case listing (a) from which organisation and (b) dates of secondments in 200203.

Paul Murphy: Within the Northern Ireland Office during the period 200203 no individuals have been seconded from the private sector.
	Within the Northern Ireland Administration there were five secondments from the private sector to the Northern Ireland civil service during the period 200203. Details are as follows.
	
		
			 Organisation Dates of Secondment 
		
		
			 GFW Price Consultancy 10 July 2001-current 
			 Partnership UK 6 January 2003-current 
			 Partnership UK 4 February 2003-current 
			 SERCO 17 February 2003-current 
			 IBM 24 February 2003-current

State Pathology Department

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research the State Pathology Department undertakes in Northern Ireland.

Des Browne: It is the policy of the State Pathologist's Department to use where appropriate, the valuable information gained from conducting post mortem examinations, particularly in areas such as sudden infant deaths, suicides, terrorist related deaths and genetic disorders. This information may be of tremendous value, particularly in inherited diseases for genetic counselling and in other instances for providing advice and guidance in preventing further similar deaths.
	In conveying such information, the anonymity of the deceased is protected. If relatives decide to donate tissue or organs specifically for research, the State Pathologist's Department must have their written consent to do so.
	The State Pathologist's Department does not use material derived from Coroner's post mortem examinations to conduct research. Such material is solely taken to assist in the ascertainment of the cause of death, or if required for evidential purposes in suspected criminal cases.

Teachers' Salaries

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effect changes to the common funding formula, and in particular changes to threshold funds, will have on funds available for teachers' salaries.

Jane Kennedy: The intention is to introduce the common formula in the calculation of school budgets for 200405.
	All changes to the common formula, when in place, will be subject to detailed modelling and consultation with education interests. There is no separate allocation for teacher costs within LMS formulae and schools may therefore decide for themselves the staffing complement and the organisational structure.
	The inclusion of threshold resources within school delegated budgets in 20034 means that, on average, school budgets will increase by between 8 per cent. and 11 per cent. depending in which area the school is located. In common with longstanding arrangements any school with a financial difficulty should contact its funding authority which will consider what additional financial support can be made available under its LMS Scheme and taking account of its responsibilities for other schools in its area.

Voting Attitudes

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) research into the attitudes of voters in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The amount spent by the Northern Ireland Office on attitudinal research in each year since 1997 is set out in the following table:
	
		Table 1: Costs of attitudinal research(19) carried out by the NIO 1997March 2003
		
			 Year Cost () 
		
		
			  
			  
			 199798 14,200 
			 199899 15,400 
			 19992000 64,675 
			 200001 56,750 
			 200102 90,545 
			 200203 82,232 
		
	
	(19) Relating to views on a range of issues including organised crime, views on the Northern Ireland Policing Board, attitudes to devolution and the NIO's contribution to the Community Attitudes Survey.

Walsh Visa Programme

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people from Northern Ireland have entered into the Walsh Visa Programme; how many of these dropped out early from the programme; and what the financial cost has been to the Government of running this programme.

Jane Kennedy: 449 people from Northern Ireland have entered the US under the Walsh Visa Programme.
	163 participants are still working in the US under the terms of the visa. I should clarify that the visa scheme allows participants to live and work for up to three years in the USA. There is no requirement for individuals to stay for the full three years visa period.
	Expenditure on the programme to date is 1,787,000 with an expected outturn of 1,952,000 by the end of 200203.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Terrorism Act

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the observations in relation to staffing levels at ports in Lord Carlile of Berriew's 'Report on the Operation in 2001 of the Terrorism Act 2000'; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: In his report on the operation of the Terrorism Act (laid before Parliament on 26 November 2002), Lord Carlile recommended that consideration should be given to the creation of a single ports and borders police force.
	The Government have made it clear that we do not rule out in the longer term any change that could be shown to improve the security of the UK, but that our immediate priority must be to exploit to the full all the opportunities for closer working between Special Branches and with our border agencies. Recent steps include measures to strengthen Special Branches, and to develop closer co-operation between them and improve co-ordination through the appointment of a National Co-ordinator of Ports Policing. Wholesale reorganisation of our border controls could adversely impact our defences at a time of enduring threat.
	There are currently around 1,200 Special Branch officers at ports in the UK. Staffing levels at ports are a matter for the Chief Constable of each force. The level of Special Branch officers at ports in England and Wales is supported by the Home Office through Dedicated Security Post funding.
	In addition to the Special Branch border control function, separate uniform policing arrangements are made on a territorial basis as the circumstances of each port dictate. The hon. Member will be aware of Sir John Wheeler's report on airport security which recommended a review of the arrangements by which airports are 'designated' for uniform policing purposes. 'Designated' airports have a full time uniform police presence paid for by the airport operator. That review is under way.
	Responsibility for security at sea ports rests with the owners of the port. There are, however, eight ports in the UK which have dedicated non Home Office port police.

Terrorism Act

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are detained without trial under the Terrorism Act 2000; and how many of them are under 18.

David Blunkett: holding answer 8 May 2003
	No one is detained without trial under the Terrorism Act 2000, though individuals may be held for investigation purposes following arrest for strictly limited periods.
	Under the immigration powers in Part 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, 15 foreign Nationals have so far been detained. Of the total detained, two have voluntary left the United Kingdom. The other 13 remain in detention.
	None of these people is under 18 years of age.

Abu Hamza

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received requests for assistance from the United States authorities relating to information provided by James Ujaama and the case of Abu Hamza.

David Blunkett: For operational reasons it is Home Home policy to neither confirm nor deny that a request has been received.

Airport Arrests

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested at airports in the UK in the last two years.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on the number of arrests for notifiable offences are collected centrally at police force area level only and as a result we cannot identify specific locations.

Antisocial Behaviour

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been (a) applied for and (b) obtained by (i) police and (ii) local authorities in Cheshire in each year since their introduction.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 12 May 2003
	Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were introduced from 1 April 1999. Information held centrally up to 31 May 2000 is for the number of ASBOs issued within England and Wales by police force area only.
	From 1 June 2000 official statistics on the number of ASBOs issued within England and Wales are based on quarterly returns from Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs). From copies of the orders we have been able to identify the applicant involved.
	The number of notifications received by the Home Office of ASBOs issued in Cheshire from 1 April 1999 to 30 November 2002 (latest available) are given in the table.
	We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under reported in returns made by magistrates' courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.
	
		The number of ASBO applications, as reported to the Home Office, from 1 April 1999 to 30 November 2002, within the Cheshire MCC area, by type of applicant and result
		
			 Period Total Issued Refused 
		
		
			 Police applications by result   
			 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000(20) (21) (21) (21) 
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 0 0 0 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 2 2 0 
			 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002 7 7 0 
			 Total 9 9 0 
			 
			 Local authority applications by result
			 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000(20) (21) (21) (21) 
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 0 0 0 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 0 0 0 
			 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002 0 0 0 
			 Total 0 0 0 
			 
			 Total applications by result
			 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000(20) (21) 0 (21) 
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 0 0 0 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 2 2 0 
			 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002 7 7 0 
			 Total 9 9 0 
		
	
	(20) For this period the number of ASBOs issued only is known
	(21) Not available

Asylum Seekers

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his policy to refuse applications for asylum from people recently engaged in hostilities against British forces.

Beverley Hughes: There is currently a hold on deciding all asylum claims from Iraqis. However, there is no question of people recently engaged in hostilities against British forces being granted asylum or Humanitarian Protection.
	Despite the hold, all Iraqi asylum applicants are fingerprinted and checked against the Immigration Service Warnings Index computer system. As part of the initial screening process all claimants are interviewed comprehensively about the routes and methods employed to reach the UK.
	Any cases giving rise to security concerns are immediately referred to the appropriate agencies.
	When decision-making is resumed, all claims will be considered on their individual merits against the circumstances which then apply in Iraq. But anyone who commits a war crime or is guilty of terrorist acts will be denied asylum, as the Refugee Convention requires. So, too, will anyone committing a serious non-political crime before arrival in the UK.
	In addition, any other person whether asylum seeker or refugee who poses a threat to national security will be denied the protection of the Refugee Convention.
	It will not be possible to establish a claim for asylum simply on the basis of having been a Ba'ath Party official, of having supported Saddam Hussein or having been forced to join the party or fight against UK/US troops.
	We do not expect Iraqis to face persecution following its liberation. We therefore envisage the progressive return of Iraqis to their country now that large scale combat operations are over. They will have an important role to play in rebuilding Iraq's economy and civic society.
	Arrangements will be made for senior officers to consider any claims raising security concerns, including any evidence of having fought against UK/US troops, or where anything other than outright refusal is anticipated.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are planned to reduce the number of asylum seekers who become unaccounted for after entering the country.

Beverley Hughes: As part of the initial screening process asylum seekers are required to provide proof of residence at a particular address and are issued with an Application Registration Card (ARC) containing their details and fingerprints. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) maintains databases containing the information supplied, which is also recorded in the individual Home Office file. For those subject to a reporting regime, place of residence is verified during the reporting event. Measures are now in place to increase the numbers of asylum seekers subject to reporting conditions, which will reduce the numbers absconding. All applicants, and their representatives, are told of their obligation to notify the Home Office of any subsequent change of address.
	The Immigration Service has eight designated reporting centres to assist in managing reporting regimes and, in addition, a person may be required to report to a police station near their address. Alongside these measures systems are in place to track and monitor all failed asylum seekers.

Asylum Seekers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied young people under 16 seeking asylum have been allowed into the United Kingdom in each of the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: Reliable information on the entry routes of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), including when UASCs first enter the United Kingdom, is not available.
	The available information on applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children is given in the table. However this data relates to applicants aged 17 or under.
	
		Unaccompanied Children(22),(23),(24) aged 17 or under, applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, 2000 to 2002
		
			  Total Applied at port Applied in country 
		
		
			 2000(25) 2,735 1,395 1,340 
			 2001(25),(26) 3,470 1,645 1,820 
			 2002(26),(27) 5,945 1,220 4,725 
		
	
	(22) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	(23) Unaccompanied at point of arrival, and not known to be joining a close relative in the United Kingdom.
	(24) Figures exclude age dispute cases reported by A-CID.
	(25) Figures exclude cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices and Postal Applications.
	(26) Provisional figures.
	(27) Figure not comparable to manual count data previous to 2002, which excluded LEO and Postal applications which are now reported by A-CID.
	Indicative information for 2002 suggests that of the 5,945 unaccompanied asylum seeking children, under 40 per cent. of the total, are aged under 16. Comparable data for previous years for the proportion of UASCs who were aged under 16 is unavailable and could be produced only by incurring disproportional costs.
	Information on asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children is published annually in the statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the RDS website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those seeking asylum in the UK from Kosovo have returned since the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: I regret that information on the number of asylum applicants who have returned to Kosovo since the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic at the end of March 2001 is not available.
	Information on the number of principal asylum applicants from the countries of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) who were removed from the UK between April 2001 and September 2002 (the latest date for which nationality data are available) is given in the table. FRY is comprised of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, but the majority of FRY applications are thought to be from Kosovars.
	
		Principal asylum applicants from the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) removed from the UK(28),(29),(30)
		
			  
		
		
			  
			 Q2 2001 455 
			 Q3 2001 445 
			 Q4 2001 560 
			 Q1 2002 500 
			 Q2 2002 585 
			 Q3 2002 605 
			 Total 3,155 
		
	
	(28) Provisional estimated data, subject to change.
	(29) Includes persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
	(30) Nationality does not necessarily indicate the country to which someone was removed.Data rounded to the nearest five.

Cabinet Office Strategy

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in achieving the recommendations of the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit's report Private Action, Public Benefit;
	(2)  what plans there are to create a new public benefit test to determine an organisation's eligibility for charitable status.

Beverley Hughes: The Strategy Unit report is a report to Government and does not represent settled Government policy. Home Office officials are currently completing their analysis of the responses to those recommendations for which the Home Office has responsibility. It is the Government's intention to publish in the summer a summary of the responses to the consultation and an indication of the Government's view as to the way forward on the implementation of the recommendations, including those relating to public benefit.
	Where recommendations have commanded general support and do not require legislation, we aim to move as quickly as possible to implement them, although some may first need further policy development work.
	However, legislation would be needed to give effect to many of the recommendations. The Home Secretary has given a commitment to publish a draft charities Bill as soon as possible.

Cannabis

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for possession of cannabis in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: Information on arrests for specific (a) types of drug offence and (b) specific types of drugs is not collated centrally. However, the number of people apprehended or summonsed by the police in England and Wales in 2000 for unlawful possession of cannabis is 39,121. This is the latest figure available at the current time, and is from the Home Office Court Appearances Database.

Charities

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are in place to determine which charities and charitable organisations will receive direct funding from central and local government.

Beverley Hughes: There are no central Government guidelines to determine which charities and charitable organisations will receive direct funding from central and local government. Nor are there plans to develop any as it would be inappropriate to do so. Each individual central Government Department and local authority, develops their own funding programmes to pay for service provision and/or support charitable activities in line with their objectives and such regulations as are set out to guide all public spending.
	Government Accounting provides advice to Departments on accounting and procurement practice. This is complemented by guidance from the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). Home Office officials are working with officials from both the Treasury and the OGC to review existing guidance to ensure there are no unnecessary barriers to voluntary and community sector involvement in delivering public services.
	Government have published a Funding Code under the Compact on relations between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector to encourage good practice. This code is due to be reviewed shortly.

Charities

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 2 April 2003, Official Report, column 750W, if his Department will publish an updated version of Central Government Funding of Voluntary and Community Organisations 198283 to 19992000: ISBN 1 84082 6363.

Beverley Hughes: Yes. We plan to announce publication of the latest research into central Government funding of voluntary and community organisations at the beginning of the next parliamentary Session.

Charities

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which charities and charitable organisations provide public services (a) alongside and (b) additional to those provided by (i) central and (ii) local government.

Beverley Hughes: There is no centrally held data on the charities and charitable organisations, which provide public services either alongside or in addition to services provided by central and local government. However, the Treasury Cross Cutting Review on 'The Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Service Delivery' published in September 2001, considered Government flows of fundingas grants and/or contractsto the voluntary and community sector. On the basis of research conducted by the Home Office, it is estimated that, in 200001, central Government Departments and their associated agencies/non-departmental public bodies provided funding spent in excess of 1.8 billion through voluntary and community organisations in England. In the same year, local authorities are estimated to have spent in excess of 1.1 billion through voluntary and community organisations in England.
	The Treasury report recommends that a unified system of data collection is put in place by April 2006.

Charities

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the review of the Charity Commission has to give additional assistance to trustees of charities in fulfilling their obligations.

Beverley Hughes: The Strategy Unit Report, Private Action, Public Benefit set out a package of recommendations to modernise charity law, to improve the range of legal forms available to charities and social enterprises, to develop greater accountability and transparency in the voluntary and community sector and to ensure independent, open and proportionate regulation of the sector.
	The Charity Commission, as the regulator of charities, has responsibility at present for providing a wide range of advice to charity trustees. The Strategy Unit report recommends that the Charity Commission's advisory role should be defined in statute to give a clearer focus on regulatory issues. Implementation of the recommendation would empower the Charity Commission to concentrate its resources more on providing advice to trustees to enable them to comply with their responsibilities under charity and trust law.

Civil Service (People with Disabilities)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department.

David Blunkett: The Home Office has adopted the corporate civil service target that staff with disabilities should comprise three per cent of the Senior Civil Service (SCS) by 2005. At present the department has no known staff with disabilities at that level but arrangements are in place to support people who have disabilities when they apply for jobs in the Home Office, and to support such staff once appointed in their development and progression. Representation of staff with disabilities has risen at junior and middle management levels and it is hoped that this will feed through into more senior levels including the SCS. The department operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities applying for external and internal vacancies, provided they meet minimum post requirements. Where necessary reasonable adjustments are made and special equipment provided for staff with disabilities, both at the workplace and in selection and promotion procedures, including selection for the department's Intensive Development and Fast-track Nomination schemes. The Home Office is currently engaged in external recruitment to senior grades and is taking steps to draw this to the attention of disability groups. The department participates in the Cabinet Office Disability Bursary Scheme, designed for staff with potential for early promotion to senior levels, the Cabinet Office summer placement scheme for disabled graduates and the Cabinet Office-chaired Disability Working Group, which is examining ways of raising the representation of people with disabilities in the SCS.
	There is evidence, from a Home Office staff survey in 2001, of a significant gap between the numbers of staff who declare disability and the actual position. Against this background, the department is exploring ways of persuading staff of the value of declaring their disability. The department has facilitated and resourced the establishment of the Home Office Disability Support Network (HODS), to provide support and encouragement to staff with disabilities and advice to the department about their needs. The membership of HODS has recently risen to 350.
	The department is working with HODS to raise awareness and improve understanding of disability issues across the office, and of the potential of disabled staff to rise to senior levels. A number of events and activities are being planned as part of the European Year for Disabled People to raise the profile of disability in the department.

Community-based Organisations

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recommendations have been issued to community foundations on better working with independent grant making trusts; and who he consulted when drafting them.

Beverley Hughes: I can confirm that there have been no recommendations issued to community foundations on better working with independent grant making trusts. Community Foundations operate as independent organisations and, as such, it is not for government to issue guidance on how they should operate.

Community-based Organisations

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice has been issued and what is being done (a) centrally and (b) regionally as part of the Home Office's work in supporting grass roots organisations to (i) develop coherence and a distinctive identity for specific grant making programmes, (ii) foster productive networking, learning and knowledge transfer among partner organisations and (iii) support the dual role of community-based organisations as local service providers and independent voices, with a wide advocacy role.

Beverley Hughes: The Compact on Relations between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in England, published in November 1998, provides a framework of principles and undertakings, which should underpin the relationship between the Government and voluntary and community in England. The Compact is supported by four Codes of Good Practice covering: funding; consultation and policy appraisal; black and minority ethnic and community organisations; and volunteering. The Compact Code of Good Practice on Funding makes a number of recommendations that are designed to ensure coherence and clarity in Government funding programmes.
	Fostering productive networking, learning and knowledge transfer among partner organisations is achieved in a variety of ways both nationally and regionally. The main mechanism is through the 18 regional voluntary sector networks consisting of a general and a black and minority ethnic network in each of the nine regions, which are funded by the Active Community Unit. The Regional Voluntary Sector Networks exist to increase the effectiveness of the VCS in each region, to unlock further funding at the regional level and to advocate effectively at the regional level. The networks, through their links to sub-regional and local networks, link grassroots organisations to key regional developments and network and learning opportunities.
	In September 2002, the Treasury published The Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Service Delivery: a cross cutting review. The Cross Cutting Review reaffirms the Government's commitment to ensuring that when the sector wishes to engage in service delivery there are no unnecessary barriers from both central and local Government. The Cross Cutting Review contains recommendations concerned with strengthening the sector, simplifying bureaucracy and getting the funding relationship between government and the sector right. It also recognises that if the expertise of the voluntary and community sector is to be used in the delivery of public services it is vital that the sector's right to independence is protected, separate to any funding relationship with Government that might exist.

Criminal Proceedings (EU)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the proposals set out in the European Commission Green Paper on Procedural Safeguards for Suspects and Defendants in Criminal Proceedings throughout the European Union (COM (2003) 75(01)); and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Government are considering the extent to which action at ED level on these matters is appropriate. The Green Paper published by the Commission does not contain firm proposals for action but rather identifies certain basic rights and poses a number of questions about the setting of minimum standards in these areas. The Government believe that any future proposals for EU measures should be based on the principles of mutual recognition and subsidiarity and assist the process of tackling cross-border crime by ensuring that suspects or defendants are not discriminated against when subject to criminal proceedings in another EU country.

Deportations

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were deported in 2002; and what the total cost to his Department was.

Beverley Hughes: Data on the number of people deported from the UK in 2002 and the total cost of deportations in that time are not available.
	The latest published information on deportations shows that of the 49,135 people removed from the UK in 2001, 450 were removed as a result of deportation action.
	Information on all those removed from the UK, including the number of deportations, will be published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Control of Immigration Statistics UK 2002 which is due to be published at the end of August, and will be available from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Entry Clearance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the last three years he has overturned a decision to refuse entry.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of decisions to refuse entry that have been overturned by the Home Office in each of the last three years is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files. The available information relating to appeals determined by the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) is given in the following table and shows that most appeals are dismissed.
	
		Outcome of appeals to Immigration adjudicators, by broad category, 19992001(31)United KingdomNumber of principal application
		
			   Outcome 
			 Appeal category Total dealt with Allowed Dismissed (32)Withdrawn  
		
		
			 All appeals 
			 1999(33) 28,610 7,630 17,350 3,630 
			 2000(33) 27,130 5,960 20,040 1,120 
			 2001(31),(33) 56,815 13,335 42,160 1,320 
			  Refusal of entry clearance(34)  
			 1999(33) 5,800 2,070 3,280 450 
			 2000(33) 6,650 2,360 3,690 600 
			 2001(31),(33) 10,755 4,415 5,910 430 
			  Refusal of Asylum  
			 1999(33) 19,460 5,280 11,130 3,050 
			 2000(33) 19,400 3,340 15,580 480 
			 2001(31),(33) 43,415 8,155 34,440 825 
			 2002(31),(33) 64,405 13,875 48,845 1,685 
			  Other non-asylum(35)  
			 1999(33) 3,350 280 2,940 130 
			 2000(33) 1,080 260 770 40 
			 2001(31),(33) 2,640 765 1,810 65 
		
	
	(31) Figures rounded to the nearest 10 except figures for 2001 and 2002 which are rounded to the nearest five.
	(32) Includes cases where the appellant withdrew the appeal because the Home Office had conceded the case, as well those where the appellant decided not to pursue the appeal further.
	(33) Figures are estimates based on data supplied from the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Presenting Officers Unit in the Home Office.
	(34) Including refusal of certificate of entitlement.
	(35) After-entry into United Kingdom.
	Information on non-asylum appeals are published regularly in the Command Paper Control of Immigration Statistics, a copy of which is available in the Library. It is planned that information relating to non-asylum appeal determined in 2002 will be published at the end of November 2003.

Gun Crime

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many weapons, and of what type, have been handed in (a) in total and (b) to each UK police force as part of the national gun amnesty.

Bob Ainsworth: Police forces will be providing final gun amnesty figures at the end of May. This will include a detailed breakdown of the items handed in. However, latest police estimates indicate that over 40,000 guns will have been handed in during the amnesty, along with nearly a million rounds of ammunition and 5,896 other weapons.

Immigration and Asylum

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Iraqi prisoners of war being treated in hospitals in the UK will be eligible to claim asylum.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 8 April 2003
	There is currently a hold on deciding all asylum claims from Iraqis. However, there is currently no question of Iraqi prisoners of war in the UK being granted asylum or Humanitarian Protection. Despite the hold, all Iraqi asylum applicants are fingerprinted and checked against the Immigration Service Warnings Index computer system. As part of the initial screening process, all claimants are interviewed comprehensively about the routes and methods employed to reach the UK.
	Any cases giving rise to security concerns are immediately referred to the appropriate agencies. When decision-making is resumed, all claims will be considered on their individual merits against the circumstances which then apply in Iraq. But anyone who commits a war crime or is guilty of terrorist acts will be denied asylum, as the Refugee Convention requires. So, too, will anyone committing a serious non-political crime before arrival in the UK.
	In addition, any other person whether asylum seeker or refugee who poses a threat to national security will be denied the protection of the Refugee Convention.
	It will not be possible to establish a claim for asylum simply on the basis of having been a Ba'ath Party official, of having supported Saddam Hussein or having been forced to join the party or fight against UK/US troops.
	We do not expect Iraqis to face persecution following its liberation. We therefore envisage the progressive return ofIraqis to their country now that large scale combat operations are over. They will have an important role to play in rebuilding Iraq's economy and civic society.
	Arrangements will be made for senior officers to consider any claims raising security concerns, including any evidence of having fought against UK/US troops, or where anything other than outright refusal is anticipated.

Immigration and Asylum

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether senior Iraqi republican guard commanders have applied for asylum in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Home Office has no record of an asylum application from anyone with a credible claim to have been a senior republican guard commander. Any evidence to the contrary will be thoroughly investigated.
	All applicants for asylum are screened in order to establish their identity. Anyone who might be of security interest will be detained and referred to the appropriate agencies.

Immigration and Asylum

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to repatriate (a) Iraqi asylum seekers and (b) Iraqis granted exceptional leave to remain; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We are working actively to ensure that Iraqis can be assisted to return voluntarily to their homeland as soon as practicable. Many Iraqis in the UK have skills, which will be of value to the reconstruction of Iraq. The Government are committed to helping clear the way for them to do so. We will work closely with the Iraqi communities in the UK and sector experts on voluntary return.
	We will be looking to commence enforced returns of those who do not qualify for leave as soon as conditions allow.

Immigration and Asylum

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures have been put in place in the NASS Restricting Access to NASS Support team to comply with the Court of Appeal judgment on section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; and whether his Department will be issuing a new policy bulletin in relation to changes to procedure.

Beverley Hughes: Following the judgment of Mr. Justice Collins of 19 February on the application of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, we anticipated all of the main points of the Court of Appeal judgment of 18 March. Changes to the procedure have been made. For example:
	The interviewer and decision-maker are now one and the same person;
	The purpose of the interview is clearly spelled out to the applicant at the outset;
	The account given by the applicant about the circumstances in which entry to the UK was achieved is thoroughly probed and warnings are given when the story is not believed; and
	Article 3 European Convention on Human rights (ECHR) issues are considered in all cases to ensure that a negative section 55 decision would not result in a breach of Convention rights.
	An updated version of Policy Bulletin 75 was issued on 11 April 2003 and reflects fully the new procedures set in place following the Court of Appeal judgement. The Policy Bulletin is available on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's website and the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) will send out copies on request.

Market Testing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated level of saving to the Department is from the use of market testing in 200203.

David Blunkett: My department has not used market testing in 200203.

National Minimum Wage

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost is in 200304 to his Department, agencies and the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible of the increase in the national minimum wage from 4.20 per hour to 4.50 per hour.

David Blunkett: There will be no cost as minimum rates in the Department, agencies and the relevant non- departmental public bodies already exceed the new national minimum wage.

Police

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers occupy (a) posts that have previously been occupied by civilian staff and (b) posts that could be performed by civilian staff in each police service in England and Wales; and what percentage these figures represent of the total officer strength of each police service in England and Wales.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not collected. Decisions about the deployment of staff, including decisions about whether particular posts should be filled by police officers or civilians rest with chief officers.

Police

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take measures to discourage officers from forces where special priority payments are limited to 30 per cent. of the force from transferring to neighbouring forces with special priority payments for up to 40 per cent. of the force.

Bob Ainsworth: The Secretary of State is not aware of evidence that officers have transferred for this reason. He has however asked the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) to review the Special Priority Payment (SPP) Scheme, to ensure that it is operating smoothly. PNB will wish to ensure that the Scheme is not having undesirable unintended effects. The Secretary of State wants PNB to ensure that the Scheme is delivering the outcomes for which it was agreed by all parties in PNBprincipally to give extra rewards to officers in the most difficult and demanding frontline posts.

Police

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many road traffic accidents involving North Wales police vehicles responding to emergency calls took place in each year from 1998 to 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of collisions involving police vehicles engaged in immediate/emergency response and pursuits in the North Wales Police force area is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 199798 9 
			 199899 10 
			 19992000 7 
			 200001 12 
			 200102 23 
		
	
	Notes
	The information is provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to which forces submit statistical returns.
	All figures are for financial years.
	Figures for 200203 are not yet available.

Police

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what central funding his Department makes available to police forces to cover the cost of policing football matches.

Bob Ainsworth: The Police Grant Funding Formula allocates grant in line with general policing needs. It does not include a component specifically for the cost of policing football matches. However, in the last two years special grant support of 300,000 a year has been provided to South Wales Police Authority toward the cost of hosting the Cup Finals at the Millennium Stadium.

Press Office

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed in his Department's press office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon Member to the reply I gave to the hon Member for Yeovil (David Laws), on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 335W.

Quarterly Reports

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether copies of the state of the sector quarterly reports will be sent to hon. Members; and what their purpose is.

Beverley Hughes: The Home Office is establishing a State of the Sector panel to monitor progress against the Government's target of increasing voluntary and community sector activity by 5 per cent. by 2006. The first report on findings from surveys of the panel will be available in the autumn of this year. Copies of the reports will be placed in the Library. In addition, reports will be available on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/sosp.html.

RAF Fairford

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 28 April, ref 108954, on RAF Fairford, on what basis the Terrorism Act 2000 was used to body search demonstrators at RAF Fairford.

David Blunkett: We do not comment on operational counter-terrorist measures, but the Chief Constable, Gloucestershire Constabulary, has informed me that powers of stop and search under the Terrorism Act were used, for the purpose of searching for articles of a kind that could be used in connection with terrorism.

SARS

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure people of Chinese origin are not discriminated against as a result of the public concerns over SARS; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976 apply equally to all people irrespective of colour, race, nationality and ethnic or national origin. It is unlawful for anyone to discriminate against another person on any of these grounds in any area covered by the legislation.
	The Chief Medical Officer has advised that at present SARS poses a low risk in this country. On 1 May the World Health Organisation removed the UK from the list of SARS affected areas, as there has been no transmission in the UK for over 20 days.
	The Department of Health continues to take this situation extremely seriously and have implemented a number of precautionary measures to stop the spread of this infection in the UK. They are taking a precautionary but proportionate approach and all measures are kept under continuous review.
	The current number of probable cases in this country stands at six. All of these patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

Suicide Bombing (Tel Aviv)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what investigations he is making into the connections and circumstances in the UK in which two British citizens allegedly went to Israel to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on 29 April; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will investigate the connections of Asif Mohammed Haniff and Omar Khan Shariff with fundamentalist organisations in Britain; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: holding answer 8 May 2003
	The Metropolitan Police Service Anti-Terrorist Branch is liaising closely with the Israeli authorities and is carrying out vigorous inquiries into all relevant aspects of the case. Six arrests were made on 2 and 3 May under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in connection with these inquiries and three individuals were changed on 8 May with offences under that Act.

Timber

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written answer of 3 April 2003, Official Report, column 872W, on timber, if he will place certificates showing that purchased construction timber for the redevelopment of 2 Marsham Street has been sourced legally and sustainably in the Library.

Beverley Hughes: When all certificates are received from Anne's Gate Property plc in respect of purchased construction timber for 2 Marsham Street, they will be placed in the Library. This is expected in the next few weeks.

Voluntary Groups

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the way in which his Department intend to take forward the twinning of ethnic minority and mainstream voluntary groups.

Beverley Hughes: In 2000 the Government launched the Black and Minority Ethnic Twinning Initiative (BMETI) which aimed to increase the involvement of black and minority ethnic people within mainstream voluntary organisations and raise the national awareness of current good volunteering practice in black and minority ethnic communities. In April 2001 an independent external evaluation showed that the initiative benefited both black and minority ethnic organisations and mainstream voluntary organisations. The evaluation contained a number of recommendations for building on the successes of the initiative. They have been taken forward as part of the Home Office Active Community Unit's work with the voluntary sector.

HEALTH

Asthma

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what targets he has set for the take up of written personal action plans for people with asthma;
	(2)  what efforts he has made to extend the use of written personal action plans for people with asthma in each of the last two years;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the impact of personal action plans for people with asthma in respect of (a) asthma symptoms, (b) working days lost, (c) night time waking, (d) outpatient hospital visits, (e) in-patient hospital visits, (f) emergency events, (g) medicine dependency, (h) prescription costs and (i) other measures.

Jacqui Smith: The new British Thoracic Society asthma guidelines do recommend written asthma action plans for all patients, particularly those admitted to hospital. We do not collect information centrally on the specific impact of personal action plans, which are not necessarily the same as written asthma action plans.
	However, improved management of asthma patients may have helped to contribute to the reduction of hospital admissions for asthma sufferers. The hospital episode statistics data in the table shows hospital admissions between 19972002 where asthma was the primary diagnosis.
	
		
			  Admissions 
		
		
			 199798 71,434 
			 199899 69,824 
			 19992000 66,054 
			 200001 60,376 
			 200102 60,134 
		
	
	As part of the current chronic disease management programme, general practitioners are required to prepare an individual management plan with the patient and ensure there are regular reviews. 93 per cent. of GPs participate. Other requirements include ensuring that all newly diagnosed patients with asthma get appropriate education and advice and ensuring that all patients get continuing education including supervision of inhaler technique if necessary.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received NHS continuing care in (a) nursing homes and (b) residential care homes in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not collect the information requested, but figures from Laing  Buisson's Care of Elderly People, Market Survey 2002 suggest the following was the number of people in care homes providing nursing care in receipt of national health service continuing care from 1997 to 2001.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 16,000 
			 1998 17,000 
			 1999 18,000 
			 2000 18,000 
			 2001 19,000 
		
	
	It would be unusual for an individual in a care home not providing nursing care to be in receipt of fully funded NHS continuing care.

Care Homes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public money has been spent on services provided by private care homes in the last 12 months.

Jacqui Smith: The gross total expenditure by local authorities in England in 200102, the latest year for which data are available, on residential care placements for adults and older people provided by the private and voluntary sector was 3,092 million. The gross total expenditure on nursing home placements provided by the private and voluntary sector in England in 200102 was 1,510 million.

Children's Trusts

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department will make available to finance the start up costs of children's trusts in each of the next three years.

Jacqui Smith: The selected children's trust pilots will be given pump priming of 60,000 per year to assist with the start up costs. Trusts that are particularly large or complex will be able to bid for additional funds, up to a further 40,000.

Continuing Care Funding

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to the NHS of providing continuing care in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The Department of Health does not collect this information.

NHS Dental Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the National Health Service (Dental Charges) Amendment Regulations.

David Lammy: None.

NHS Dental Services

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the population of Shropshire was registered with an NHS dentist in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: At 28 February 2003, 39.3 per cent. of the population for Shropshire County Primary Care Trust was registered with a general dental service (GDS) dentist. The information in the table shows the percentage of population registered with a dentist for Shropshire health authority area at 30 September for the years 1998 to 2001 and for 31 August 2002.
	
		General Dental Service: Proportion of the population registered with a dentist 1998 to 2002Shropshire health authority
		
			 At 30 September Percentage of population registered with a CDS dentist 
		
		
			 1998(36) 44.4 
			 1999(36) 43.2 
			 2000(36) 42.7 
			 2001(37) 40.7 
			 2002(38) 41.4 
		
	
	(36) 19982000 ONS mid year population estimates based on the 1991 census.
	(37) 2001 ONS mid year population estimates based on the 2001 census.
	(38) 2002 data is at 31 August.
	Registrations lapse if patients do not return to their dentist within 15 months and so the registration figures exclude patients who have not been to their CDS dentist within the past 15 months. Also excluded from the figures are patients who receive dental treatment from other national health service dental services, including dental access centres.
	Some of the reduction in recorded registration numbers is due to improvements in the methods of removing duplicate registration records, which were first employed by the Dental Practice Board in 1993.

NHS Dental Services

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are per head of population in Shropshire.

David Lammy: The number of national health service dentists working in Shropshire health authority area at 30 September 2001 and the number of dentists per 100,000 population is shown in the table. These figures are on a headcount rather than whole-time equivalent basis and take no account of part-time working. Dentists working in more than one dental service are included in each service, apart from dentists working in both the personal dental service and general dental service (GDS), who are counted in the GDS only.
	Dentists working solely in private dentistry are not covered in these figures.
	
		NHS dentistsShropshire health authority area at 30 September 2001
		
			  Number of NHS dentists 
		
		
			  
			  
			 General dental service(39) 143 
			 Salaried service of GDS 0 
			 Personal dental service(40) 4 
			 Community dental service(41) 20 
			 Hospital dental service(41) 10 
			 Total 177 
			 Number of NHS dentists per 100,000 population(42) 40.1 
		
	
	(39) The General Dental Service (GDS) figure cover principals on a HA list, assistants and vocational dental practitioners.
	(40) The Personal Dental Service (PDS) figure covers dentists working in the PDS who are not working in the GDS.
	(41) Figures by Health Authority are rounded to the nearest 10.
	(42) ONS mid year population estimates based on the 2001 census.

Electronic Yellow Card Scheme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported adverse drug reactions via the electronic yellow card scheme there have been in each of the last five months; and what assessment he has made of the scheme.

David Lammy: holding answer 7 May 2003
	The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) launched a new electronic yellow card on 31 October 2002. During 2002, 15 electronic reports of suspected adverse drug reactions were received in November and 16 reports in December. During 2003, 25 reports were received in January, 10 reports in February, 20 reports in March and 10 reports in April.
	A working group of the CSM and its subcommittee on pharmacovigilance has been formed to advise on strategies for electronic reporting and the criteria for the evaluation of its contribution to pharmacovigilance. The working group has proposed a questionnaire for electronic reporters to obtain their opinions on the usefulness of the electronic yellow card. Reporters are invited to complete this electronic questionnaire after completing an electronic report. An evaluation will be carried out in November 2003, in order to assess the impact of and the nature and quality of information received on electronic yellow cards. The CSM will consider the findings of the evaluation, to inform future enhancements to the electronic yellow card.
	The capability for early action on emerging safety issues is reflected in the MCA's high level and operational targets. These reflect the time taken to make newly received spontaneous adverse reaction reports available for review and analysis by pharmacovigilance assessors. The MCA's performance against targets is published annually and in 200102 all targets were met or exceeded, against a background of a 55 per cent. increase in spontaneous adverse reaction reports.

Emergency Readmission/Delayed Discharge

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place a copy of the quarter 4 200203 emergency readmission and delayed discharge figures in the Library.

Jacqui Smith: The quarter 4 (March 2003) figures on delayed discharge and emergency readmission should be available in June. When they are available, they will be placed in the Library.

Emergency Readmission/Delayed Discharge

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce the allocation to local authorities of the money to offset the effect of delayed discharge penalties.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 12 May 2003
	An announcement of individual allocations for local authorities can be expected shortly.

Energy Policy

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement, in relation to his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible, on (a) the amount of energy consumed, (b) spending on (i) energy and (ii) energy efficiency measures, (c) the amount saved through energy efficiency measures and (d) energy policy in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: Information in relation to the Department's main administrative buildings, plus a number of subsidiary offices, agencies and non-departmental public bodies where available is shown in the tables. Figures in the first table are based on information reported in the first Sustainable Development In Government annual report and the earlier Greening Government annual reports and have been weather corrected. Expenditure on energy efficiency measures is not recorded separately but is included as part of regular maintenance and updating of ageing equipment.
	
		Main Department of Health Buildings
		
			  Energy Consumption (GWh/y) Energy Expenditure (/y) Energy/m(44) (kW/m(44)/y) Percentage savings over 199798 
		
		
			 199798 19.4 738,355 309.16  
			 199899 22.51 786,383 358.73 -16.03 
			 19992000 23.12 758,908 368.44 -19.18 
			 200001 20.81 653,639 331.65 -7.27 
			 200102 19.59 717,423 312.14 -1.97 
		
	
	Notes:
	Column 1. Energy consumption shown in the table is weather-corrected, using annual degree days relative to the 20-year average for 199091. The figures are those reported on for the Central Government Estate campaign, and generally include each Department's main estate plus agencies, but not NDPBs.
	Column 2. Energy expenditure: this is actual spend. The Climate Change Levy was paid between April and November 2001; since that date the Department has purchased electricity from a green tariff for its main London estate.
	Column 4. Savings over 199798: These have been expressed as percentage savings relative to the first year quoted here, and are based on the figures in the preceding column.
	Energy consumption figures in the following tables have not been weather corrected.
	
		Departmental Records Office
		
			  Energy consumption (GWh/y) Energy Expenditure (/y) Energy/m(44) (kW/m(44)/y) Percentage savings over 199798 
		
		
			 199798 0.76 17,844 217.17  
			 199899 0.90 19,806 256.84 -18.27 
			 19992000 0.73 16,260 209.71 3.43 
			 200001 0.63 12,503 179.20 17.48 
			 200102 0.73 17,245 209.06 3.73 
		
	
	
		Medical Devices Agency(43)
		
			  Energy consumption (GWh/y)(44) Energy expenditure (/y) Energy/m(44)(kW/m(44)/y) Percentage savings over 199798 
		
		
			 199798 0.42 22,026 134.63  
			 199899 0.36 15,021 115.99 13.84 
			 19992000 0.37 16,946 117.25 12.90 
			 200001 0.41 15,684 130.60 2.99 
			 200102 0.41 20,534 131.57 2.27 
		
	
	(43)
	,
	(44) The Medical Devices Agency's main building is Hannibal House. The Medical Devices Agency (since April 2003, the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency) occupies 38 per cent. of the building, while the rest is occupied by central DH and other related bodies. Figures in the table have therefore been calculated on the basis of 38 per cent. of total consumption. Only electricity figures are given; gas for heating is supplied via the Landlord's service charge and is not included here.
	
		NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency(45),(46)
		
			  Energy Consumption (GWh/y) Energy Expenditure (/y) Energy/m(46) (kW/m(46)/y) Percentage savings over 200102 
		
		
			 200001 1.29 28,730 351.05  
			 200102 1.19 54,438 323.86 7.75 
		
	
	(45) This table relates to buildings occupied by the Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) in Chester, Reading and Sheffield.
	(46) The Agency came into existence in April 2000. Figures for its predecessor body (part of the NHS) have not been sought.
	
		Dental Practice Board(47)
		
			  Energy Consumption (GWh/y) Energy Expenditure (/y) Energy/m(48) (kW/m(48)/y) Percentage savings over 199798 
		
		
			 199798 3.99 128,286 398.64  
			 199899 3.47 111,780 346.91 12.98 
			 19992000 3.29 92,059 329.36 17.38 
			 200001 3.16 85,748 315.67 20.81 
			 200102 3.11 92,295 310.92 22.01 
		
	
	(47) The Dental Practice Board is an NDPB based in Eastbourne. The building is shared with other occupiers, but the DPB is responsible for energy efficiency measures. Figures are for the whole building.
	The Energy White Paper, Our Energy FutureCreating a Low Carbon Economy, made clear the importance the Government attach to improving energy efficiency in its own estate. This is reflected in several targets. There is currently an interim target of a 1 per cent. per annum ongoing reduction in weather-corrected carbon emissions, pending the development of new indicators and targets based on benchmarking the performance of each department's largest buildings. These new targets are planned to be in place later this year. New targets for Government Departments' use of combined heat and power generated electricity will also be established during 2003.
	In addition, the review of Government procurement has identified areas where procurement could reinforce the achievement of these targets, and arrangements are being made centrally for Departments to purchase goods with high energy efficiency standards and which provide good value for money.
	The Department of Health has a good record on the environmental management of its own estate and continues to seek ways of improving its performance. Against the Government target that five per cent. of Departments' electricity should come from renewable sources by 30 March 2003, the Department has been purchasing renewable energy for the majority of its London administrative buildings since November 2001. This effectively reduces carbon to air emissions by 39 per cent. per annum.

Foundation Hospitals

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which targets set by the NHS will apply to foundation hospitals.

John Hutton: Subject to parliamentary approval, Clauses 40 and 45 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill require all national health service bodies, including NHS foundation trusts, when exercising their functions to take national standards into account. A NHS foundation trust will be independently inspected by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection against the same national standards as other NHS trusts.

GP Contracts

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of the minimum income guarantee to GP practices in the next five years.

John Hutton: The minimum practice income guarantee (MPIG) forms part of the proposed new general medical services contract. It will ensure that any practice which would have lost income as a result of the introduction of the global sum arrangements will receive funding equal to its previous level of income from those aspects covered by the global sum providing it meets minimum standards of quality.
	The British Medical Association and NHS Confederation have announced details of the MPIG for the first two years of the new contract. Beyond 200506, the application of the MPIG will be considered in the light of the review of the allocation formula.
	The costs of the MPIG are estimated at 393 million in 200405 and 293 million in 200506 in England. These costs form part of the financial envelope for primary care investment already agreed between the NHS Confederation, the BMA and Government and which remains unchanged.

GP Contracts

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by when he expects the GP contract will come into force.

John Hutton: Should the profession vote in favour of the contract, and subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary legislation, the Government's intention is that the implementation timetable would be as set out in chapter 8 of Investing in Primary Carethe new GMS contract. This lists which elements would be introduced from 200304 and elements which would be introduced from 200405.

GP Contracts

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the new GP contracts for those practising in the London area.

John Hutton: If accepted by the profession, the new national general medical services (CMS) contract will apply to all CMS practices including those in London. Personal medical services contracts will continue as a permanent complementary local option.
	In recognition of the particular problems faced by practices in the London area, the new CMS contract provides for an off-formula addition to the funding available to London practices. In 200405, this would amount to 53 million. Taken with the recently announced minimum practice income guarantee this means that no practice in London would lose against their global sum equivalent, so long as they continue to provide the same or a greater range of services and meet minimum quality standards. They would gain from the considerable additional funding provided for primary carea 33 per cent. increase United Kingdom-wide by 200506.

Health Funding

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the implementation of the new health funding system; when primary care trusts will receive their full target entitlement under the new system; and what the difference between target funding and allocation is for each primary care trust.

John Hutton: The revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 200304 to 200506 were announced on 11 December 2002. The allocations were based on a new formula following a review carried out under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
	For the 200304 to 200506 allocations round PCTs have received average cash increases of 9.24 per cent., 9.55 per cent. and 9.32 per cent., or 30.83 per cent. over the three years. This represents average real terms increases of 6.84 per cent., 6.88 per cent. and 6.65 cent., or 21.79 per cent. over the three years.
	As a result of the 200304 to 200506 allocations round all PCTs will make progress towards their target shares of resources as determined by the new formula.
	The allocations to all PCTs for 200304 to 200506 include resources to finance the cost of pay reform, new drugs and treatments and additional capacity. It includes the commitments we set out in the NHS Plan. We have also given extra resources to under target PCTs.
	Information from targets as determined by the weighted capitation formula for 200304, is available in the Library.

Health Services (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions are being made to increase the level of funding for services for the mentally handicapped in the London Borough of Havering.

Jacqui Smith: People with learning disabilities use both specialist and mainstream health and social services and benefit from increased expenditure on these. National Health Service expenditure is increasing by an average 7.5 per cent., per year over the next three years.Over the six years to 200203, funding to local councils for personal social services has increased by over 20 per cent., or 3 per cent. above inflation each year and will continue to increase over the next three years at around 6 per cent, above inflation; however, most resources are allocated on an unhypothecated basis and it is for local councils to decide how much to allocate to learning disability services.
	The proportion of the social services budget nationally spent on learning disability has increased from 7 per cent, in 1983 to 14 per cent. in 200102. Learning Disability Partnership Boards can have a role in influencing the way in which councils allocate resources.
	On a like for like basis, the London Borough of Havering's social services resources increased by 10.1 per cent. in 200102 and by 6.4 per cent. in 200203. Our proposals for improving services for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers are set out in the White Paper Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century (Cm. 5086), published in March 2001. The White Paper announced two new funds to provide central support for key aspects of its programme; the Implementation Support Fund and the Learning Disability Development Fund.
	On 1 April, we announced in Making Change Happen (HC51411), the Government's annual report on learning disability, that the Implementation Support Fund would continue at 2.3 million for 200304 and at 2 million for 200405 and 200506. The fund is used mainly to support local advocacy projects and the Learning Disability Helpline. The 42.6 million Development Fund will continue to March 2004; priorities for the 20.6 million revenue element include modernising day centres, developing supported living approaches for people with learning disabilities living with older carers and supporting the wider introduction of person centred planning.
	In 200203, Barking and Havering Health Authority was allocated 88,000 from the revenue element of the Development Fund in respect of the London Borough of Havering; the allocation to Havering Primary Care Trust for 200304 is 89,000.

Hospitals (Leavers)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital-based doctors and consultants have left the NHS in each of the past five years.

John Hutton: We do not collect data on the number of leavers and joiners in the national health service. Work force data are collected through the annual Department of Health medical and work force census. The census is a snapshot of data as of 30 September in the appropriate year. The information in the table shows the net increases in the number of consultants in each of the last five years.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS)medical and dental staff 1997 to 2001England at 30 September -- Number(48)
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 All medical and dental staff 66,836 68,458 70,000 71,688 73,846 
			 of which:  
			 Consultant 21,373 22,224 23,225 24,306 25,690 
			 of which hospital:  
			 Hospital medical and dental staff 62,048 63,871 65,796 67,561 70,022 
			 of which:  
			 Hospital consultant 20,766 21,607 22,596 23,625 24,994 
		
	
	(48) Headcount
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental work force census

Leonard Cheshire Foundation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Leonard Cheshire Foundation on its report on access to primary care for disabled people, with particular reference to (a) premises, (b) staff training and (c) consultation with disabled people.

John Hutton: The Government welcome this report and I attended its launch on 26 March. I wrote to the Leonard Cheshire Foundation on 25 April setting out the actions the Department of Health is already taking to offer better access to people with disabilities, and the further actions now planned. These include the establishment of a joint group with the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) to develop a programme to address disability equality issues; placing a new duty on national health service bodies to involve and consult patients and the public (including disabled people and groups) in developing services; as part of a wider equalities and diversity strategy for the NHS workforce commissioning the NHS University to lead development of a new disabilities awareness training plan which will consider with the Leonard Cheshire Foundation and the DRC how best to use the 'Working with Disability' learning package; and supporting primary care providers in ensuring that their premises comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Mental Health

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sick days were lost over the last year by his Department through staff mental health problems.

David Lammy: Information on the number of days lost through mental health problems is not held centrally.

Mental Health

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the development of mental health services for young people.

Jacqui Smith: The Government's strategy for the development of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), initiated in 19992000, is making progress with the aim of improving the overall quality and accessibility of local services for children and young people with mental health problems. In the four years ending 31 March 2003, we invested 105 million in CAMHS developments across the National Health Service and local authorities, which resulted in significant increases in staffing, new or expanded services and better joint working between the main providing agencies.
	Our objectives for the further development of CAMHS, set out in the Department's Priorities and Planning Framework 20032006 Improvement, Expansion and Reform, include year-on-year increases of at least ten per cent across the service according to agreed local priorities leading to a comprehensive service in all areas by 2006. These developments will be underpinned by additional central investment of some 250 million over the three years and by guidance contained in the new children's national service framework (NSF). The recently published emerging findings from the NSF include a chapter on the mental health and psychological well-being of children and the content of a comprehensive CAMHS.

NHS Modernisation Agency

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the chief executive officer of the NHS Modernisation Agency is.

John Hutton: The National Health Service Modernisation Agency is a Directorate of the Department of Health and as such does not have a Chief Executive Officer. The Director of the NHS Modernisation Agency is David Fillingham.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 8 April, column 239W, on NHS Professionals, which NHS trusts are using NHS Professionals; and which NHS trusts have used NHS Professionals in the past and have since ceased to use its services.

John Hutton: The National Health Service trusts using NHS Professionals are shown in the table. No NHS trusts have ceased to use the services of NHS Professionals.
	NHS trusts using NHS Professionals
	Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust
	Barking Havering  Redbridge NHS Trust
	Bath  NE Somerset PCT, Bath
	Cherwell Vale PCT, Oxfordshire
	Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester
	City Hospital Sunderland NHS Trust
	Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Stourbridge
	East  North Herts NHS Trust, Stevenage
	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
	Epping Forest PCT
	George Eliot NHS Trust, Nuneaton
	Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust
	Harlow PCT
	Lancashire Care NHS Trust, Preston
	Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
	Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester
	Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Wakefield
	North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol
	North Cheshire Hospials NHS Trust
	North East Oxfordshire PCT
	North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
	North Mersey Community NHS Trust
	North Middlesex University Hospital
	Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust
	Nuffield Orthopedic Centre NHS Trust, Oxford
	Oxford City PCT
	Oxford Learning Disability NHS Trust
	Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust
	Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust
	Penine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Oldham
	Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
	Royal Liverpool Childrens NHS Trust
	Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
	Royston, Buntingford  Bishops Stortford PCT
	Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust
	Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
	South East Oxfordshire PCT
	South Leeds PCT
	South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust
	South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, Middlesborough
	South West Oxfordshire PCT
	South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust
	St Helens  Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust
	St Marys NHS Trust, London
	Stockport NHS Trust
	United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
	University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
	University Hospital, Nottingham NHS Trust
	Uttlesford PCT, Essex
	Walsall PCT
	Walton Neurology  Neurosurgery NHS Trust, Liverpool
	West Middlesex University Hospitals NHS Trust
	Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust
	Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
	Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

School Nurses

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of school nurses; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 28 April 2003
	This information is not collected centrally.

Strategic Health Authorities/Primary Care Trusts

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the total cost of establishing (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts.

John Hutton: The costs of establishing strategic health authorities and primary care trusts were met from within the financial allocations to the health authorities and are therefore not identifiable. Approximately 63.1 million of central funding was made available between 19992000 to 200102 to support the establishment of primary care trusts.

Target Funding Allocations

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the distance from target funding allocations and (b) estimated time to target for (i) each strategic health authority and (ii) each primary care trust.

John Hutton: Strategic health authorities do not have distances from targets. Information on primary care trust (PCT) distances from targets as determined by the weighted capitation formula for 200304, has been placed in the Library.
	For the 200304 to 200506 allocations round PCTs have received average cash increases of 9.24 per cent., 9.55 per cent. and 9.3 per cent., or 30.83 per cent. over the three years. This represents average real terms increases of 6.84 per cent., 6.88 per cent. and 6.65 per cent., or 21.79 per cent. over the three years.
	As a result of the 200304 to 200506 allocations round all PCTs will make progress towards their target shares of resources as determined by the new formula.
	The allocations to all PCTs for 200304 to 200506 include resources to finance the cost of pay reform, new drugs and treatments and additional capacity. It includes the commitments we set out in the NHS Plan. We have also given extra resources to under target PCTs.

Waiting Times

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was in AE from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge in (a) England, (b) Royal Shrewsbury Hospital Shropshire, (c) Princess Royal Hospital Telford and (d) Wrexham Maelor District General Hospital on the last date for which figures are available.

David Lammy: Information on average waiting times in accident and emergency (AE) departments in England is not collected. Information is available on the proportion of patients who spend less than four hours in AE from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge for each acute NHS trust in England. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Total time spent in major AE departments, NHS trusts in England, October to December 2003
		
			 Name Percentage of patients who spent less than 4 hrs in AE 
		
		
			  
			  
			 England 78 
			 Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust 88 
			 Princess Royal Hospital NHS Trust 87 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form QMAE
	Questions relating to hospitals in Wales are now matters for the devolved Administrations.

Whistleblowers

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 6 May, ref 106425, on Mr. Mark Heyes, what steps he has taken in response to the Prime Minister's letter of October 2002 concerning Mr. Heyes; and if he will make a statement on the application of the Department of Health's whistle-blowing policy to Mr. Heyes.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 12 May 2003
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 661W. If Mr. Mark Heyes could send me a copy of correspondence dated 23 October, I will ensure that he receives a reply.
	The Department is satisfied that its policy on whistle-blowing in the national health service has been applied appropriately by the Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals NHS Trust.

Young Carers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the number of carers in the UK under the age of 16.

Jacqui Smith: Figures from the 2001 census indicate that there are 97,362 carers under the age of 16.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Citizens Advice Bureaux

David Kidney: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases funded by legal aid monies have been handled by Citizens Advice Bureaux in each year since 200001.

Rosie Winterton: The number of cases completed by Citizens Advice Bureaux for Legal Help for the years in question was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 200001 29,871 
			 200102 42,425 
			 200203 56,166 
		
	
	The General Civil Contract for Not-for-Profit organisations allows agencies to perform up to 10 per cent. of their contracted casework at 'level 1' work. This allows for the provision of up to 20 minutes of legal advice to a client without a financial eligibility check. Figures pertaining to 'level 1' work are not included in the answer because this work is not recordable as 'cases' and so no data is available relating to the individual occurrences of this work

Citizens Advice Bureaux

David Kidney: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much legal aid funding has been paid to Citizens Advice Bureaux for legal aid work in each year since 200001.

Rosie Winterton: The Legal Services Commission has paid Citizens Advice Bureaux the following amounts for Legal Help:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200001 4.61 
			 200102 20.02 
			 200203 22.47

Civil Service (People with Disabilities)

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations she has received about the Immigration and Asylum Appeals (Fast Track Procedure) Rules.

Rosie Winterton: None, other than a response from the Council on Tribunals to formal consultation on the proposals.

Immigration and Asylum

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations she has received about the Immigration and Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules.

Rosie Winterton: None, other than responses to a formal consultation on the proposals.

Parliamentary Elections

Bob Russell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the Lord Chancellor will move polling day for future (a) general and (b) European parliamentary elections to a Sunday.

Yvette Cooper: Following consideration of the responses to the consultation paper Combining English Local Authority, Greater London Authority and European Parliament Elections in 2004, my Department, together with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, issued a statement on 6 May 2003 which included an indication that the Government intend to undertake further piloting and evaluation of voting at weekends.

PRIVY COUNCIL

Ceremonial Clothing

David Winnick: To ask the President of the Council if he will propose to the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons that ceremonial clothing worn by officers should be dispensed with.

John Reid: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave at Business Questions on 8 May 2003, Official Report, column 841. I will pass to the Modernisation Committee the suggestion that it consider the question of ceremonial dress by officers of the House.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Care (Hendon)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average cost of full time child care in Hendon; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The cost of child care reported in the Department for Education and Skills 200102 audit shows average costs for Barnet, the LEA within which Hendon falls, of 150 per week for full day care. The audits were completed for each local authority by their respective Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships. The audits do not give a further breakdown for constituency areas.
	The Government recognises that making child care affordable is a key challenge for the National Childcare Strategy and has made a substantial investment to achieve this.
	Working parents, subject to the level of their income, may receive support through the child care element of the working tax credit. Tax credits are rightly targeted at lower and middle income families who may use a range of types of child care. The child care element of the working tax credit provides for up to 70 per cent. of costs of eligible child care. It can pay up to 94.50 a week for one child (where the child care cost is 135), and up to 140 a week for two or more children (where the cost is 200).
	1 million a day is now spent on supporting parents with child care costs through the working tax credit.

Benefits Applications

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications have been received in each quarter since September 2000 for (a) attendance allowance, (b) disability living allowance and (c) invalid care allowance; of those how many were (i) successful, (ii) unsuccessful, (iii) subject to appeal and (iv) successful at appeal; how many (A) claims, (B) reviews, (C) reconsiderations and (D) appeals there were on which a decision had not been reached at the end of each quarter; how many applications have been (1) subject to reconsideration and (2) successful at reconsideration; what was the average number of days taken to process appeals; and what the average processing time has been for (a) first-time claims and (b) appeals for claims to be reconsidered in each quarter over the last three years.

Maria Eagle: Not all information requested is available, nor is all available information in the form requested. Such information as is available has been placed in the Library.

Disability Living Allowance

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people aged 65 and over are receiving the mobility component of disability living allowance (a) at the higher rate, (b) at the lower rate and (c) in total;
	(2)  how many people aged (a) 60, (b) 61, (c) 62, (d) 63 and (e) 64 made a successful claim for the mobility component of disability living allowance in each of the last five years; and what the average age was of successful mobility claimants in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many people in receipt of the mobility component of disability living allowance reached their 65th birthday in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: As at 30 November 2002, the latest date for which information is available, about 538,000 people aged 65 and over were receiving the disability living allowance mobility component, of which some 496,500 were receiving the higher rate and around 41,500 were receiving the lower rate. The other information requested is in the table.
	
		Disability living allowancemobility component: (i) annual number of new awards to people aged 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64; (ii) average age in years of people with new awards; and (iii) number of recipients aged 65 in Great Britain as at 30 November of each year from 1998 to 2002
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 (i) Annual number of new awards of DLA mobility component to people aged:  
			 60 7,400 6,900 8,700 7,200 7,700 
			 61 6,400 6,300 7,500 6,900 6,800 
			 62 7,000 6,500 7,500 7,200 8,400 
			 63 7,400 7,000 8,100 7,200 8,700 
			 64 7,900 8,000 8,600 8,600 8,900 
			   
			 (ii) Average age in years of people with new awards of DLA mobility component 41 41 41 41 41 
			   
			 (iii) Number of DLA mobility component recipients aged 65 58,800 63,700 66,200 66,700 69,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample of DLA computer system records as at 30 November each year.
	2. All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred, except for those for item (ii) of the table.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre

Pensions

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average age was of those starting to draw (a) personal pensions and (b) occupational pensions in (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not available because it is not collected centrally. As the recent pensions Green Paper made clear, however, increasing longevity means that individuals will need to consider their retirement options carefully if they are to get the retirement income they want. The Green Paper contains a range of proposals to allow individuals to both increase their retirement income through saving and extend their working lives.

Retirement

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what age the majority of (a) males and (b) male manual workers have ceased to work.

Nick Brown: In the year March 2002 to February 2003, 52.2 per cent. of men aged 62 were economically active compared to 48.8 per cent. of men aged 63 1 .
	It is not possible to give comparable figures for male manual workers only.
	1 Source:
	Labour Force Survey GB March 2002-February 2003.

TREASURY

Birth Certificates

Lembit �pik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances parents can apply for the birth certificate for their child to be issued in Welsh; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Lembit pik, dated 13 May 2003
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the circumstances under which parents can apply for the birth certificate of their child to be issued in Welsh rather than English. (112190)
	For a birth occurring in Wales, if the entry in the register is in Welsh and English, then the birth certificate will be bilingual. There is no current provision in law for a birth certificate to be issued in Welsh only.

Birth Certificates

Lembit �pik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department has issued to local registrars on the issuing of birth certificates in the Welsh language to parents who have made this request; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Lembit pik, dated 13 May 2003
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the guidance issued to local registrars over the issuing of birth certificates in the Welsh language. (112191)
	As Registrar General, I issue instructions and guidance to registration officers in England and Wales. The form of entry in the registers of births is prescribed. For Wales, it is bi-lingual and the particulars may be recorded in Welsh and English or in English only. Registration officers are instructed that on issuing a certified copy of an entry in a birth register it must contain the details as they appear in the register. Consequently if the details in respect of a birth in Wales were recorded in Welsh and English then any certified copy will contain the details in both languages. If the details were recorded in English only they will appear on the certified copy in English only.

Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 19 March 2003 concerning VAT on medicines administered to animals.

John Healey: I have done so.

Departmental Staff

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of regional variations in staff turnover in his Department.

Ruth Kelly: All Treasury staff are based in London.

Euro

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the exchange rate of the pound to the euro on export performance.

Ruth Kelly: A full assessment of the prospects for UK exports can be found in the Budget Report (HC 500, Chapter B).

Illegal Food Imports

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent (a) discussions he has had and (b) representations he has received on the application of intelligence by his Department in preventing illegal food imports from entering the United Kingdom.

John Healey: Customs worked closely in 200203 with Defra, Port Health Authorities and local authorities, who were then the lead enforcement agencies for illegal imports of meat and animal products, to improve intelligence relating to these imports.
	The Statutory Instrument which effected the transfer of anti-smuggling controls to Customs with effect from 11 April 2003 contains a statutory gateway which enables Customs to strengthen their intelligence gathering and sharing with the other enforcement agencies.
	Discussions are taking place this week between Customs, Defra and the Veterinary Laboratories Agencies to develop the risk assessment released by Defra on 25 March 2003.

Illegal Food Imports

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures his Department is taking to tackle illegal food imports into the United Kingdom.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 25 March 2003, Official Report, column 5WS.
	The Draft Action Plan will be finalised following a Stakeholder Forum today, which provides an opportunity for discussion with interested parties.

Sponsorship

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of his Department's projects have received sponsorship in the last financial year; who the sponsor was in each case; what the nature of each project was; what time period was covered by each project; what the total cost of each project was; how much money was involved in each sponsorship deal; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: There were no occurrences of private sponsorship of my Department's activities in the two financial years ending 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003. This information will be disclosed in the Treasury's forthcoming Departmental Report.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many multiple identity tax credit fraud investigations are under way; and what the maximum number of identities assumed for a given case is.

Dawn Primarolo: There are currently 18 multiple identity tax credit fraud investigations under way. The maximum number of suspected false identities in one case is 200.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many multiple identity tax credit fraud investigations have been conducted in each year since tax credits were introduced; and what the maximum number of identities assumed for a given case was in each of those years.

Dawn Primarolo: In 19992000 there was one investigation This involved one suspected false identity.
	In 200001 there were 10 investigations involving multiple identity tax credit fraud. The maximum number of suspected false identities in one case was 66.
	In 200102 there were 18 investigations involving multiple identity tax credit fraud. The maximum number of suspected false identities involved in one case was again 66.
	In 200203 there were 21 investigations involving multiple identity tax credit fraud. The maximum number of suspected false identities involved was 200.
	All new tax credit applications are screened automatically before payment is made to pick up cases of suspected identity fraud.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his staff have been (a) disciplined, (b) suspended, (c) dismissed, (d) prosecuted and (e) convicted for matters relating to tax credit fraud in each year since tax credits were introduced; and what amount of tax credit was defrauded in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: The figures for the Inland Revenue for each year are:
	19992000: None
	200001: One prosecution leading to a conviction and involving 675. A second case is still proceeding, the amount suspected to be involved is less than 500.
	200102: One case which is still proceeding, the amount suspected to be involved is approximately 6,000.
	200203: Two cases which are still proceeding, the amounts suspected to be involved are approximately 10,000 in each case.
	It is Inland Revenue policy to suspend staff pending prosecution and dismiss anyone found guilty.
	There have been no cases in which Treasury or Customs and Excise have taken disciplinary action against staff in respect of tax credit fraud.